NEWSROOM

TORONTO, April 6 /CNW/ - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE; BVC: PREC) announced today that it has filed a Notice of Intention to commence a normal course issuer bid with the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX").  Under the bid, which is subject to acceptance by the TSX, the Company will have the right to purchase for cancellation up to a maximum of 11,598,513 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares") through the facilities of the TSX and La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (the Colombian Stock Exchange) (the "BVC").  This amount represents approximately 4.3% of the Common Shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2011, determined in accordance with the applicable rules of the TSX.  There were a total of 268,124,609 Common Shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2011.  Management of the Company will determine the actual number of Common Shares that may be purchased and the timing of any such purchases, subject to compliance with applicable TSX rules.  Daily purchases will be limited to 442,322 Common Shares, other than block purchase exceptions.  Purchases made pursuant to the bid will be made in the open market through the facilities of the TSX and BVC and the price that the Company will pay for any such Common Shares will be the market price at the time of the acquisition.

The Company is proposing to commence the bid on April 8, 2011, and have it remain open until the earlier of April 7, 2012 or the date on which the Company has purchased the maximum number of Common Shares permitted under the bid.  The Company has not purchased any Common Shares during the previous year pursuant to any issuer bid.

The Company intends to make the bid because it believes (i) that the Common Shares may be undervalued from time to time in relation to its current and future business prospects, and (ii) that Common Shares may become available during the period of the bid at prices that would make the purchase of such Common Shares for cancellation an appropriate use of available funds and in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

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 Rubiales and Piriri oil fields 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 approximately 88,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, after royalties, with working interests in 40 blocks in Colombia, Peru and Guatemala.

The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia under the ticker symbols PRE and PREC, respectively.

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, Guatemala 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 March 10, 2011 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.