Newport Exploration Ltd. (Newport or the company) provides an update with respect to a change in its quarterly dividend policy. Effective December 2019 the company's board of directors (the board) approved a quarterly fixed distribution of $0.01 per share. The company enacted this policy in March 2020, with subsequent dividend payments every three months.

As previously disclosed, the company reserved the right to change the dividend payment from time to time, which it has done on occasion. The company's special dividend and quarterly dividend history is available on the company's website. To date the company has distributed approximately $58 million in dividend payments to its shareholders.

Investors are cautioned that historical results are no guarantee of future performance. As reported in a company News Release dated February 12, 2024, in light of several factors affecting the uncertainty and potential volatility of cash flows derived from the company's 2.5% Gross Overriding Royalty (GOR) licences going forward, the Board deemed it prudent to amend its dividend in 2024 to a quarterly fixed dividend distribution of $0.005 per share. In making this decision, the Board had considered recent production data, as well as statistics and analysis released by the World Bank, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on the future of oil prices.

Although, Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark (and the price at which the company's oil royalties are based) has traded around USD 80 in 2024 (compared with USD 120 per barrel in 2022), a reduction in production from the Company's GOR licences in Australia by the operator Beach Energy (Beach), has negatively affected the company's confidence in future GOR payments to be received for the remainder of 2024. Beach is currently conducting a review of their assets and until such time they announce their plan for drilling and/or further development of the company's GOR licences, the board of directors of the company have decided to postpone the next dividend payment pending the announcement of Beach's future plans.