NEWSROOM

TORONTO, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE) announced today more success in the appraisal campaign it is conducting in the Quifa and Rubiales Blocks in the Los Llanos Basin in Colombia. The company drilled successful appraisal wells, Quifa-17, on prospect "E" at Quifa as well as Rub-357, on prospect "D" at Rubiales and provided an update regarding further drilling success at Rubiales.

Mr. Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The company has a strong track record of exploration, with a success rate of over 86% and 100% during 2009. This continuous tally of successful wells in Rubiales, and most importantly in Quifa, reinforces our belief in the prospectivity of the area and the robustness of the resource base on which we are planning our present and future growth, growth that includes drilling an additional twenty exploratory and appraisal wells at Quifa in 2010."

Quifa Block

    Well Quifa-17
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As part of the appraisal drilling campaign in the Quifa Block, a third appraisal well was drilled on prospect "E". The Quifa-17 well found the top of the Carbonera basal sands at 2,971 feet measured depth (MD), or 2,269 feet true vertical depth at sub-sea level (TVDSS) and the oil water contact (OWC) at 3,002 feet MD, or 2,300 feet TVDSS, resulting in an oil column of 31 feet gross at the well. Final petrophysical evaluation of the well indicates a net pay zone of 18 feet with 31% average porosity. The Quifa-17 well was drilled west of prospect "E" at a distance of 2.3 km from the Quifa-8 well (refer to drill results of the Quifa-8 well in the company's press release dated August 26, 2009). Along with the discovery well Quifa-5 and appraisal wells Quifa-8 and Quifa-12, this well confirms the extension of prospect "E" to the southwest, a total prospect area of up to 4,815 acres (more than 19 km(2)), and an average net pay of 31 feet for the prospect. The company is now planning to test the well and complete it as a vertical hole producer.

This is the ninth consecutive successful well that the Company has drilled in the Quifa Block in its attempt to confirm the extension of the Rubiales field to the southwest. The discovery in Quifa-17, along with the other eight wells, Quifa-5, Quifa-8 and Quifa-12 on prospect "E", Quifa-I-9 on prospect "I"; Quifa-7, Quifa-10 and Quifa-11 on prospect "H", and Quifa-9 on prospect "D", provides the company with more than 15,000 acres of new reserves with the same characteristics of the Rubiales field.

Rubiales Field

Well Rub-357
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The Rub-357 appraisal well was drilled on prospect "D" in the northeastern reaches of the Rubiales Block in the "Buffer Zone". The well found the top of the reservoir, the Carbonera basal sands, at 2,929 feet MD, or 2,310 feet TVDSS and the OWC at 2,992 feet MD, or 2,373 feet TVDSS for a total gross oil column at the well of 63 feet. The petrophysical evaluation of the well indicates a net pay zone of 40 feet with porosities over 31%. The Rub-357 was drilled as an appraisal well on prospect "D", 4.6 km northeast from the discovery well Rub-147 drilled during the last quarter of 2008 (refer to press release dated October 2, 2008). This well extends the discovery of prospect "D" 2,000 additional acres to the northeast and confirms approximately 12,000 acres (more than 48 km(2)) for the whole prospect. This well and wells Rub-147 and Quifa-9 (which was another appraisal well in prospect "D" drilled 10 km to the southwest of Rub-147, refer to the press release dated September 21, 2009) also confirms a hydrocarbon column of more than 100 feet measured from the crest of the structure to the average OWC measured at the wells, with net pays ranging from 17 to 40 feet. The company is now planning to test the well and complete it as a vertical hole producer.

Wells Rub-241 and Rub-242
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Within the commercial area of the Rubiales field, the company drilled wells Rub-241 and Rub-242. Originally, these two wells were drilled in an area where 7 feet of net pay for Rub-242 and 22 feet of net pay for Rub-241 were expected. The wells turned out to be much better than expected and resulted in 31 and 34 feet of net pay respectively. The results from these wells will allow the incorporation of more than 1,800 acres of reservoir with net pay averaging 30 feet.

Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian-based company and producer of natural gas and heavy crude oil, owns 100 percent of Meta Petroleum Corp., a Colombian oil operator which operates the Quifa Block in the Llanos Basin in association with Ecopetrol S.A., the Colombian national oil company. The company is focused on identifying opportunities primarily within the eastern Llanos Basin of Colombia as well as in other areas in Colombia and northern Peru. Pacific Rubiales has a current net production of 49,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (after royalties), with working interests in 32 blocks in Colombia and Peru.

Information in this press release expressed in barrels of oil equivalent (boe) is derived by converting natural gas to oil in the ratio of six thousand cubic feet (mcf) of natural gas to one barrel (bbl) of oil. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of 6 mcf: 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding estimates and/or assumptions in respect of production, revenue, cash flow and costs, reserve and resource estimates, potential resources and reserves and the company's exploration and development plans and objectives) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic return; the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from the estimates and assumptions; failure to establish estimated resources or reserves; fluctuations in petroleum prices and currency exchange rates; inflation; changes in equity markets; political developments in Colombia or Peru; changes to regulations affecting the company's activities; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data; and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's annual information form dated April 1, 2009 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

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