NEWSROOM

TORONTO, June 3, 2013 /CNW/ - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE; BVC: PREC; BOVESPA: PREB) announced today an increase of 50% to its quarterly cash dividend.  The Board of Directors approved an increase in the dividend to U.S.$0.165 per common share from the previous U.S. $0.110 per common share, payable on June 28, 2013 to shareholders of record as of June 20, 2013 and to holders of Brazilian Depositary Receipts (the "BDRs") of record as of June 17, 2013. The ex-dividend date for shareholders trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (or the Colombia Stock Exchange) as well as for those trading BDRs on the Bolsa de Valores Mercadorias e Futuros (or the Brazilian Stock Exchange) is June 18, 2013.

"Pacific Rubiales is committed to delivering a dividend that is reliable, sustainable and competitive," commented Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of the Company.  "Today's 50% increase to our dividend is a clear demonstration of our aim to balance long-term growth with returns and our confidence in the sustainability of future earnings and cash flow, under-pinned by our expectation of continued growth in production.

"Our confidence is supported by a number of developments announced over the past 12 months.  These include the Company's strong reserves growth and a large increase in Prospective Resources reported for year-end 2012, a continued diversification of the reserves base with the Rubiales field now representing less than 19% of total net 2P reserves, the development of a large and diversified exploration and development portfolio, and a number of structural operating cost reduction initiatives that are expected to materialize through the remainder of 2013."

The Company expects to continue paying a dividend on a quarterly basis at this level.  A formal dividend policy is not currently in place, however, the Board of Directors of the Company is in the process of developing such a policy.

The Company intends to designate all dividends as "eligible dividends" for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) unless a notification of change is otherwise posted on the Company's website at www.pacificrubiales.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.  Provided designation is made, the dividend will be considered an "eligible dividend" for tax purposes.  An eligible dividend received by a Canadian resident individual shareholder is entitled to the enhanced dividend tax credit.

For shareholders trading on the Colombian Stock Exchange, the Colombia peso equivalency shall be calculated based on the exchange rate as certified by the "Central Bank" on the date of monetization and will be published on the SIMEV website at the proper time.

With respect to the BDRs traded on the Brazilian Stock Exchange, the Depositary Institution in Brazil will execute the exchange agreement as of the date of the payment of the dividend to the holders of BDRs, on or about June 18, 2013, for conversion purposes. Also, the holders of BDRs registered on June 17, 2013 shall be entitled to receive the dividends from the Depositary Institution on or about July 5, 2013.

The information in this release is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of all possible income tax consequences and considerations, but a general guideline. It is not intended to be legal or tax advice to any particular investor or potential investor. Investors or potential investors are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax advisor in their country of residence to obtain guidance with respect to appropriate tax treatment of their distributions, their particular tax consequences, and their individual reporting obligations.

Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian company and producer of natural gas and crude oil, owns 100% of Meta Petroleum Corp., which operates the Rubiales, Piriri and Quifa heavy oil fields in the Llanos Basin, and 100% of Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia Corp., which operates the La Creciente natural gas field in the northwestern area of Colombia. Pacific Rubiales has also acquired 100% of PetroMagdalena Energy Corp., which owns light oil assets in Colombia, and 100% of C&C Energia Ltd., which owns light oil assets in the Llanos Basin. In addition, the Company has a diversified portfolio of assets beyond Colombia, which includes producing and exploration assets in Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, Guyana and Papua New Guinea.

The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia and as Brazilian Depositary Receipts on Brazil's Bolsa de Valores Mercadorias e Futuros under the ticker symbols PRE, PREC, and PREB, respectively.

Advisories

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news 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, Peru, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Guyana; 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 13, 2013 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.

In addition, reported production levels may not be reflective of sustainable production rates and future production rates may differ materially from the production rates reflected in this news release due to, among other factors, difficulties or interruptions encountered during the production of hydrocarbons.

Resources

Prospective Resources are those quantities of oil and gas estimated to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations.  There is no certainty that the Prospective Resources will be discovered.  If discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the Prospective Resources.  Application of any geological and economic chance factor does not equate Prospective Resources to Contingent Resources or reserves.

Readers should give attention to the estimates of individual classes of resources and appreciate the differing probabilities of recovery associated with each class.  Estimates of remaining recoverable resources (unrisked) include Prospective Resources that have not been adjusted for risk based on the chance of discovery or the chance of development and Contingent Resources that have not been adjusted for risk based on the chance of development.  It is not an estimate of volumes that may be recovered. Actual recovery is likely to be less and may be substantially less or zero.

Translation

This news release was prepared in the English language and subsequently translated into Spanish and Portuguese. In the case of any differences between the English version and its translated counterparts, the English document should be treated as the governing version.

SOURCE: Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.