TORONTO, March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE;
BVC: PREC; BOVESPA: PREB) is pleased to announce today that it has
elected to exercise its option to acquire a 35% interest in Block
S-M-1166 held by Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (ASX: KAR) (“Karoon”)
through the funding and participation in the Bilby-1 exploration well,
offshore Santos basin, Brazil.

This will be the third exploration well the Company has participated in
the Karoon blocks, following the Kangaroo-1 and Emu-1 wells. The
Company’s participation in Bilby-1 was announced today by the operator
of the blocks (see the Karoon website: www.karoongas.com.au) and will complete the minimum work commitments required to retain all
five blocks (S-M-1037, -1101, -1102, -1165 and -1166).

Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Rubiales commented
“Although we are in early exploration stages, we are pleased with the
results to date and our partnership with Karoon. Our first well,
Kangaroo-1, discovered oil in an Eocene structure and we are looking
forward to following up with an appraisal well as soon as a suitable
drilling rig can be sourced and mobilised to the Kangaroo-2 location.”

On completion of the Bilby-1 well, the Company will acquire a 35%
interest in the five Karoon blocks and be entitled to request the
operatorship of the project. The transaction is conditional on
approval from the Agencia Nacional do Petroleo, Brazil.

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 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, Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, Papua New
Guinea or 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 press release
due to, among other factors, difficulties or interruptions encountered
during the production of hydrocarbons.

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.