CONCERNING DENOMINATION, REGISTERED OFFICE & OBJECTIVES

Article 1 - The Latin American Association of Organic Geochemistry (ALAGO), a non-profit civil corporation is hereby established, to be governed by these statutes.

Article 2 - The Association shall initially maintain its registered office at CENPES/DIVEX/SEGEQ, Ilha do Fundão - Quadra 7, CEP 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and its jurisdiction shall be the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Sole Paragraph - For the sake of convenience, the Associationís Board of Directors may function in another city of Latin America.

Article 3 - The Associationís objectives are:

a) to bring together all those who are engaged in organic geochemistry and related activities;

b) to promote, foster, and disseminate scientific and technological research in the ambit of organic geochemistry in Latin America and the Caribbean;

c) to organize congresses, symposiums, and seminars periodically, where technical-scientific works related to all levels of organic geochemistry can be presented and debated;

d) to foster improved teaching methods of organic geochemistry at all levels;

e) to organize short or medium-duration refresher courses within the various branches of organic geochemistry;

f) to promote and foster the specialization of scientists and technical specialists in the various branches of organic geochemistry;

g) to foster exchange with sister bodies and also with universities and research centers in Latin America and other regions;

h) to publish technical-scientific information and papers of interest to members.

CONCERNING MEMBERS, ADMISSION AND CLASSES

Article 4 - The classes of members of the Latin American Association of Organic Geochemistry shall be: Permanent, Honorary, Meritorious, Patron, and Student.

Article 5 - The admission of Permanent Members shall proceed through completing of the proper form, which shall be forwarded to the Executive Secretary for subsequent approval by the Board of Directors.

Article 6 - Professionals who exercise technical or scientific activities in the ambit of organic geochemistry or related areas may become Permanent Members.

Article 7 - The title of Honorary Member may be granted by the Board of Directors, unanimously, to professionals or international figures who have rendered outstanding contributions to science and to the area of organic geochemistry.

Article 8 - The title of Meritorious Member may be granted by the Board of Directors, unanimously, to persons or bodies which have made valuable donations to the Association.

Article 9 - Companies or bodies which are interested in financially supporting the Association may be admitted as Patron Member.

Article 10 - University students who are taking undergraduate courses in the sciences or subjects related to organic geochemistry may be admitted as Student Members.

Sole Paragraph - Admission of Student and Patron Members shall proceed through completion of the proper form, which shall be forwarded to the Executive Secretary for subsequent approval by the Board of Directors.

CONCERNING RIGHTS & DUTIES

Article 11 - All classes of members shall have the following rights:

a) to participate in all of the Associationís scientific and cultural activities;

b) to take partin, discuss the subjects on the agenda, and vote at the General Assemblies and at meetings of the Association.

Article 12 - Patron and Meritorious Members, when bodies shall exercise their rights and duties through an accredited representative.

Article 13 - Member duties shall be:

a) to uphold the Associationís good name, lending prestige to and participating in its initiatives;

b) to pay their annual dues in accordance with that which is established by the Board of Directors for each class of members.

Article 14 - The General Assembly, as the Associationís highest deliberative body, shall be held every two years during the Latin America Congress as an ordinary session, and a the agenda shall be specified beforehand.

Sole Paragraph - The General Assembly shall be held, at first call, in the presence of a plurality of paid-up members with voting rights or, at second call, with any number of members.

Article 15 - The particular duties of the Ordinary General Assembly are:

CONCERNING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Article 16 - The Board of Directors, the Associationís administrative body, shall be composed of at least seven and at most nine Permanent Members residing and active in Latin America and shall comprise an Executive Secretary and the other members of the Board of Directors who represent ALAGO before industries, universities and research bodies. The Association shall endeavor to achieve an adequate representativity of Latin American member countries.

1 - The First and Second treasurers and others needed to fill positions to be created shall be appointed by the Executive Secretary and approved by the other members of the Board of Directors. The Executive Secretary and the Treasurer shall reside in state, territory, or province, where the Associationís registered office is located.

2 - The Board of Directorsí term of office shall be four years, and any of its members may be reelected.

Article 17 - The Board of Directors shall meet ordinarily once per semester, with at least fifty per cent of its members present.

1 - Decisions shall be made with a plurality of votes, and the Executive Secretary shall hold the casting vote.

2 - In the event of a vacancy or the permanent disability of a Permanent Member, the Board of Directors shall decide unanimously on a replacement.

3 - In urgent cases, the Board of Directors may convene an extraordinary meeting by telegram or telephone; Said meeting shall be convened by the Executive Secretary or half of its members.

Article 18 - It shall be incumbent on the Board of Directors:

a) to lead the Association, adopting the necessary administrative measures;

b) to observe and enforce the resolutions of General Assemblies and these statutes;

c) to present to the Ordinary General Assembly for deliberation, every two years, the Associationís Statement of Accounts, Balance Sheet and Budget.

d) to promote congresses, meetings, courses, and other events of interest to members of the geochemistry community;

e) to acquire or alienate real estate;

f) to express a public opinion on subjects concerning the Associationís objectives;

g) to sign agreements with bodies connected with organic geochemistry, with the aim of organizing courses for its members or for other interested bodies;

h) to sign agreements for technical consultancy services with bodies and organs in the field of organic geochemistry;

i) to prepare and coordinate geochemical programs, studies, or research projects in areas of interest to its members, endeavoring to obtain approval for these from financing institutions or other bodies;

j) to approve norms for publications in general.

Article 19 - It is incumbent on the Executive Secretary:

a) to govern the Association with the help of the other members of the Board of Directors and to represent it actively and passively, in court or otherwise;

b) to convene and chair General Assemblies and Board of Directors meetings;

c) to represent the Association in public or, when unable to do so, to indicate its legal representative within the Board of Directors;

d) to supervise and answer for all administrative activities of the Association and take any routine measures not provided for in these statutes;

e) to authorize acquisitions and to sign, with the First and Second Treasurer, the Associationís revenue and expense documents.

Article 20 - It is incumbent on the other members of the Board of Directors to collaborate with the Executive Secretary in the performance of his duties.

Article 21 - It is incumbent on the First Treasurer:

a) to supervise, inspect, and guide the functioning of the Associationís finance sector;

b) to take charge of the collecting of membership dues and to operate the Associationís funds.

Article 22 - It is incumbent on the Second Treasurer:

a) to deputize for the First Treasurer in his absence or inability or in case of vacancy.

CONCERNING COMMITTEES AND

SPECIAL ORGANS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Article 23 - The advisory committees and organs of the Board of Directors shall be either Permanent or Special.

1 - The Permanent Committees, enumerated hereafter and composed exclusively of Permanent Members, shall have as their purpose to study the proposals submitted to them and give their opinion on these; their coordinators shall be appointed by the Board of Directors.

1) Elections and Statutes Committee

2) Publications Committee

2 - Other Permanent Committees may be created at the Board of Directorsí discretion.

3 - The Special Committees, designated by the Board of Directors, shall be temporary and shall be disbanded as soon as the purpose for which they were created has been accomplished.

Article 24 - In the event of the urgent need for a solution to certain problems, in the judgment of the Executive Secretary, he may convene the members of any committee, with advance notice of five days, explaining the motives for and informing said members of the date and venue of the meeting.

Article 25 - The internal rules for the organization and functioning of the Permanent Committees shall receive prior approval of the Board of Directors.

Sole Paragraph - The board of Directors shall assign at least three Permanent Members to draw up said rules.

Article 26 - Technical-Scientific Committees may be created at the Board of Directorsí discretion, with the task of lending greater dynamism to the sectors of the Association, concerned with cultural and scientific activities, including the organization of congresses, technical-scientific meetings, courses, scholarships, awards etc.

Article 27 - It shall be incumbent on the Elections and Statutes committee to study all affairs pertaining to the Associationís statutes and to Association and to give their opinion on these.

Article 28 - It shall be incumbent on the Publications Committee to edit the Associationís publications.

CONCERNING ELECTIONS

Article 29 - All elections shall be by secret ballot and no voting by proxy shall be permitted.

Article 30 - In Association elections, the candidates who obtain a plurality of votes shall be considered elected.

Article 31 - All terms of office shall be of four years and incumbents may be reelected.

Article 32 - The Ordinary General Assembly held during the Latin American Congress shall elect the Board of Directors by secret ballot.

1 - The tickets indicating the candidates for positions on the Board of Directors shall be registered with the Elections and Statutes Committee up to ninety days prior to elections.

2 - Requests for registration of candidate tickets shall be addressed to the Associationís head office, shall be accompanied by a postal acknowledgment-of-receipt form, and shall be signed by at least ten paid-up Permanent Members.

3 - Only the tickets which are in accordance with Article 16 of these Statutes shall be accepted and registered.

Article 33 - The Election and Statutes Committee shall distribute a list of the tickets to all members, at least sixty days prior to the date of the General Meeting.

1 - The election in question shall be by direct, secret ballot of the paid-up members present at the General Assembly.

CONCERNING THE LATIN AMERICAN CONGRESS

ON ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY AND

ASSOCIATION ASSEMBLIES AND MEETINGS

Article 34 - The Association shall sponsor the Latin American Congress on Organic Geochemistry and technical-scientific meetings to promote both fraternization among members as well as the presentation of papers and to foster broader knowledge of geochemical science and techniques and their development.

1 - The venue of the Latin American Congress on Organic Geochemistry shall be determined by the General Assembly in Latin America during said congresses.

2 - The date of the Congress and the dates and venues of technical-scientific meetings shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

3 - The planning and organization of the Congress shall be undertaken by the local Organizing Committee, whose coordinator shall be chosen by the Board of Directors.

CONCERNING DISSOLUTION

Article 35 - The Latin American Association of Organic Geochemistry may be dissolved at any time, by deliberation of an Extraordinary General Assembly convened for such purpose, in the presence of at least two-thirds of the paid-up members entitled to vote.

Sole Paragraph - In the event of the Associationís dissolution, the General Assembly shall determine the distribution of the corporate assets to non-profit institutions engaged in the area of organic geochemistry, as chosen by said Assembly.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 36 - The revenue of the Latin American Association of Organic Geochemistry shall consist of membership dues, contributions and any other legal revenue.

1 - Membership dues shall be established annually by the Board of Directors.

Article 37 - The Association shall adopt an emblem and may edit technical-scientific publications, whose norms shall be approved by the Board of Directors.

Article 38 - The Association is hereby prohibited from taking parting or expressing an opinion in political, partisan or religious displays or demonstrations.

Article 39 - The Association shall always endeavor to collaborate with state-owned, semi-private, or private organs whose focus is in the area of organic geochemistry and for this purpose the Association may enter into technical-scientific advisory agreements with said organs.

Sole Paragraph - Funds derived from such agreements shall obligatorily be employed in meeting the objectives mentioned in items c, e and h of Article 3.

Article 40 - Upon a decision by the Board of Directors, the Association may enter into agreements with or may join other, sister bodies or organizations.

Sole Paragraph - In the event of a decision to establish an agreement, said agreement may be signed and sealed by the Board of Directors.

Article 41 - These statutes shall only be altered or amended by agreement of a majority in an Ordinary General Assembly, so long as at least two-thirds of the members entitled to vote are present at said Assembly.

1 - The Elections and Statutes Committee shall distribute to all members at least three months prior to the date of the Ordinary General Assembly all prepositions received for the amendment of the statutes.

TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Article 42 - These statutes, approved by the Board of Directors as the lawful representative of the founding members of the Latin American Association of Organic Geochemistry, on April 06, 1989 at a meeting held in the city of Porto Alegre, shall take effect immediately.

Article 43 - The term of office of the Board of Directors, initiated on November 30, 1988, the date on which the General Assembly was held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shall extend until 1992, when the new Board of Directors shall take office in accordance with the provisions of these Statutes.

Article 44 - During the first term of office, these statutes may be modified, for the sake of adaptation and of correction of any possible imprecision by two-thirds of the members entitled to vote and who are present at the Ordinary General Assembly.