NEWSROOM

    TORONTO, May 6 /CNW/ - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE) announced
today that it has withdrawn its proposal to shareholders to re-price certain
of its existing stock options, due to the recent positive price performance of
the underlying shares. This was to be voted on by shareholders at its upcoming
May 21, 2009 annual shareholders' meeting.

    Pacific Rubiales is a Canadian-listed producer of oil and natural gas.
The company is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production
company in Colombia. Pacific Rubiales owns 100 percent of Meta Petroleum
Limited, which operates the Rubiales and Piriri oil fields in Colombia's
Llanos Basin in association with Ecopetrol S.A., the Colombian national oil
company, as well as Pacific Stratus Energy and Kappa Energy Holdings.
    The company is focused on identifying growth opportunities particularly
within the Eastern Llanos Basin as well as in other areas in Colombia and
northern Peru. The company has a robust and growing reserve base, and is
maximizing future production prospects through its exploration activities.
Pacific Rubiales has a current net production of approximately 34,000 barrels
of oil equivalent per day, with working interests in 34 blocks in Colombia and
Peru.
    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.

    %SEDAR: 00007953E