NEWSROOM

TORONTO, Feb. 16 /CNW/ - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE; BVC: PREC) announced today the appointment of Don J. Ford, Victor Rivera and Alexander Bialer to its Board of Directors, as well as the retirement of Jose Efromovich as a director of the company. Each of the new appointees to the Board is an independent director within the meaning of section 1.4 of Multilateral Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees. These appointments are part of the company's stated objective of strengthening its corporate governance processes and increasing Board independence.

Concurrently with being appointed to the Board of Directors, Mr. Ford has been appointed to its Audit Committee, Mr. Rivera has been appointed to its Reserves Committee and Mr. Bialer has been appointed to its Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

Each new director brings to the company extensive public and private company experience. Mr. Ford, currently a retired Chartered Accountant, has many years of experience serving as an officer and/or director of a number of public companies, including Bolivar Goldfields, Chivor Emeralds and Gran Colombia Resources, among others. Mr. Rivera holds a masters degree in petroleum engineering and has over 33 years of experience in the Colombian hydrocarbon exploration and production sector; notably, having served as President and CEO of Hocol S.A. for a number of years as well as "High Commissioner for the Protection of Energy Infrastructure" for the Colombian government. Mr. Bialer spent the bulk of his career with G.E. in Brazil, where he retired in 2002 after 22 years of service, having been the Director of Business Development in Brazil and Latin America since 1990. He currently serves as a director of a number of South American-based public and private companies, including Avianca, Colombia's principal airline.

Mr. Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "On behalf of Pacific Rubiales, I wish to thank Messrs. Ford, Rivera and Bialer for agreeing to join the Board of Directors of the company. Their extensive experience and leadership will greatly contribute to the efficacy of the Board in addition to helping the company move towards its goal of improving corporate governance practices and increasing the independence of its Board. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Jose Efromovich for his years of dedication and support as a director of the company."

The appointments are subject to regulatory approval.

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 over 54,222 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 (boes) 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 5.7 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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