Vancouver, British Columbia, December 14th, 2015.
Further to its news release of December 9, 2015, Newport Exploration Ltd ('Newport' or 'the Company') reports it has received AUD$3,854,980, representing its 2.5% gross overriding petroleum royalty ('GORR') payments plus AUD $9,903 interest, for a net amount of $3,864,883 for the period from February 2015 -- October 2015. Taxes withheld by Beach Energy Ltd ('Beach') were AUD $410,962, the withholding taxes for the August 2015 - October 2015 period.
The royalty payment is net of Australian withholding taxes in accordance with the Australian Tax Office ('ATO') ruling as disclosed in the Company's November 10, 2015 news release whereby the ATO determined that the Company is subject to a 30% Australian withholding tax for all royalty payments.
Total royalty income for the period from February 2015 -- October 2015 was AUD $4,265,942.
Notwithstanding the receipt of the royalty payments, the Company reserves the right to continue to pursue its legal proceedings, as set out in its December 9, 2015 news release.
The Company continues to strongly encourage shareholders and potential investors to access information release independently by Beach, Santos Ltd and Drillsearch Energy Ltd. in order to keep current on the exploration and development of the licences applicable to the Company's GORR.
Newport currently has 92,329,874 shares issued and outstanding with approximately $15.2 million on account.
For further information contact:
Ian Rozier, Director and Chief Executive Officer
+1 604 685 6851
[email protected]‐exploration.com
www.newport-exploration.com
www.beachenergy.com.au
www.drillsearch.com
www.santos.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release.
Cautionary Statement on Forward‐Looking Information
This news release, which contains certain forward-looking statements, is intended to provide readers with a reasonable basis for assessing the financial performance of the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words 'believe', 'should', 'could', 'expect', 'anticipate', 'contemplate', 'target', 'plan', 'intends', 'continue', 'budget', 'estimate', 'may', 'will', 'schedule' and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements pertain to assumptions regarding the price of oil, fluctuations in currency markets (specifically the Australian dollar and the U.S. dollar), the future funding of the Company's projects, and the future development of the Company's projects. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, which considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the risk of fluctuations in the assumed exchange rates of currencies that directly impact the Company, such as the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and U.S. dollar, the risk of fluctuations in the assumed prices of oil, the risk of changes in government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Australia or other countries in which the Company carries or may carry on business in the future, risks associated with developmental activities, the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risk of obtaining necessary licences and permits, and assumed quantities or grades of reserves. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect the Company's actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those acknowledged in such statements.
The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.