b'\x7f military conflicts, civil unrest or political strife; and/or\x7f international border disputes.For example, oil and natural gas operations in our license areas in Africa and South America maybe subject to higher political and security risks than those operations under the sovereignty of theUnited States. We plan to maintain insurance coverage for only a portion of the risks we face fromdoing business in these regions. There also may be certain risks covered by insurance where the policydoes not reimburse us for all of the costs related to a loss.Further, as many of our licenses are concentrated in the same geographic area, a number of ourlicenses could experience the same conditions at the same time, resulting in a relatively greater impacton our results of operations than they might have on other companies that have a more diversifiedportfolio of licenses.Our operations may be adversely affected by political and economic circumstances in the countries in whichwe operate.Oil and natural gas exploration, development and production activities are subject to political andeconomic uncertainties (including but not limited to changes in energy policies or the personneladministering them), changes in laws and policies governing operations of foreign-based companies,expropriation of property, cancellation or modification of contract rights, revocation of consents orapprovals, obtaining various approvals from regulators, foreign exchange restrictions, currencyfluctuations, royalty increases and other risks arising out of foreign governmental sovereignty, as well asrisks of loss due to civil strife, acts of war, guerrilla activities, terrorism, acts of sabotage, territorialdisputes and insurrection. In addition, we are subject both to uncertainties in the application of the taxlaws in the countries in which we operate and to possible changes in such tax laws (or the applicationthereof), each of which could result in an increase in our tax liabilities. These risks may be higher inthe developing countries in which we conduct a majority of our activities, as it is the case in Ghana,where the GRA previously disputed certain tax deductions we had claimed in prior fiscal yearsGhanaian tax returns as non-allowable under the terms of the Ghanaian Petroleum Income Tax Law, aswell as non-payment of certain transactional taxes and other payments.Our operations in these areas increase our exposure to risks of war, local economic conditions,political disruption, civil disturbance, expropriation, piracy, tribal conflicts and governmental policiesthat may:\x7f disrupt our operations;\x7f require us to incur greater costs for security;\x7f restrict the movement of funds or limit repatriation of profits;\x7f lead to U.S. government or international sanctions; or\x7f limit access to markets for periods of time.Some countries in the geographic areas where we operate have experienced political instability inthe past or are currently experiencing instability. Disruptions may occur in the future, and losses causedby these disruptions may occur that will not be covered by insurance. Consequently, our exploration,development and production activities may be substantially affected by factors which could have amaterial adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, in the eventof a dispute arising from non-U.S. operations, we may be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of courtsoutside the United States or may not be successful in subjecting non-U.S. persons to the jurisdiction ofcourts in the United States or international arbitration, which could adversely affect the outcome ofsuch dispute.55'