Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. provides an operational update on its exploration portfolio in Colombia, Peru and Guatemala.

Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented: "Within the context of our exploration growth strategy, the ongoing and continuous success at CPE-6 and Quifa underlie our belief in the potential of the Llanos Basin in Colombia. These exploration projects, in addition to the enormous potential of our entire exploration portfolio, pave the way toward our four to five year target of 500,000 boepd of gross production."

Colombia - Llanos Basin

CPE-6 Block The Company continues its exploration campaign in the Guairuro prospect drilling the Guairuro-3, Guairuro-4 and Guairuro-5 stratigraphic wells in the north-western part of the CPE-6 Block.

The Guairuro-3 well, drilled at a distance of 13 km west of Guairuro-1, reached a total depth of 2,523 feet true vertical depth below sea level ("TVDSS"), and found the top of the C-7 interval of the Carbonera Formation at 2,408 feet TVDSS, and the top of the Paleozoic Basement at 2,451 feet TVDSS. The Guairuro-4 well, drilled at a distance of 15.1 km south of Guairuro-2, reached a total depth of 2,486 feet TVDSS, and found the top of the C-7 interval of the Carbonera Formation at 2,185 feet TVDSS, and the top of the Paleozoic Basement at 2,402 feet TVDSS. The Guairuro-5 well was drilled 5.7 km and 7.5 km northeast of the Guairuro-1 and Guairuro-2 wells, respectively, and reached a total depth of 2,592 feet TVDSS, finding the top of the C-7 Interval at 2,328 feet TVDSS, and the Paleozoic Basement at 2,533 feet TVDSS.

Similar to the previously drilled Guairuro-1 and 2 stratigraphic wells, the Guairuro-3, 4 and 5 wells were drilled with a 6 1/8" slim design, and were continuously cored along the Carbonera C-7 interval. Total core recovery was 147.3 feet (73.7%), 143.9 feet (71.9%) and 41 feet (51%) in the Guairuro-3, 4 and 5 wells, respectively, for a total cored section of 280 feet. All the wells showed significant oil impregnations, close to 30 feet at each well in all the cored intervals within the C-7 interval. The C-7 interval also showed high shale content. The basal unit was not observed in the Guairuro-3 and 4 wells, and in the Guairuro-5 well it was very thin. Therefore, it is interpreted that this basal unit pinched-out east of the Guairuro-3 well, north of the Guairuro-4 well and east-northeast of the Guairuro-5 well, but very close to the wells' locations. The core description showed the presence of fine to very fine oil-impregnated sands, with intercalations of shales and siltstones. Because of this shale content in the Guairuro-3 well, the petrophysical evaluation only indicated 6.5 feet of net pay. The Guairuro-4 well did not indicate net pay zones in these intervals; and the Guairuro-5 well exhibited 14 feet of net pay and an oil-water contact at 2,433 feet TVDSS. Aside from the shale facies characteristics that the C-7 interval showed at the Guairuro-4 well, the presence of a normal fault located immediately to the north of its location could also restrict the hydrocarbon charge to this part of the prospect and oil may have spilled further south to where the C-7 interval pinches-out. The presence of oil in the three wells, in the shaly sandstones of the C-7 interval, is evidence that the petroleum system reached the area where these wells are located, and furthermore, may indicate that the boundary of the prospect may be located to the west, south and northeast, and possibly close to the location of the three wells.

With the information obtained from these three wells, a minimum preliminary area of 63,000 acres for the prospect has been estimated with a trap size extended an additional 6, 9 and 7.5 km to the south, west, and northeast, respectively, of the previously drilled wells. The Company is also preparing to drill the last well of this initial campaign, the Guairuro-6 well, 10 km south of the Guairuro-4 well, so as to fulfil its contractual commitment with the Colombian National Hydrocarbon Agency (the "ANH") and to evaluate a possible reservoir compartmentalization of the pay units, as well as the south-headed oil-spilling from the location of the Guairuro-4 well. With the upcoming drilling of the Guairuro-6 well, the Company will complete its commitments under the Technical Evaluation Agreement ("TEA") phase of the CPE- 6 contract.

In the north zone of the Guairuro prospect, a total of 9 wells have been drilled to date, and in each well we have had reliable evidence that the petroleum system worked for this area and that the oil was able to migrate and to load an area as vast as 63,000 acres or more. These results reaffirm the petroleum potential of the CPE-6 Block, and the Company's belief that in the next exploration phase the CPE-6 Block will prove to be one of the most significant oil finds in the Llanos Basin of Colombia.

The Company is currently preparing all the technical documentation and permits to start an exploration/appraisal campaign to further delineate this oil accumulation with exploratory, appraisal and stratigraphic wells that will be drilled in the second half of 2011, subject to obtaining the appropriate licenses.

The CPE-6 Block is a TEA awarded by the Company in 2008 with the ANH, in which Meta Petroleum Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) is the operator and holds a 50% working interest and Talisman Energy Inc. holds the remaining 50%.

Quifa Block As a continuation of its exploration/delineation campaign in prospects "A", "F" and "Q" in the Quifa Block, located in the northern part of the block, the Company drilled four wells: (i) the Jaspe-1 ST2 appraisal well in prospect "A" (ii) the Jaspe-3 stratigraphic well in prospect "A" (iii) the Ambar-1 exploratory well in prospect "F" and (iv) the Ambar-3 stratigraphic well, also in prospect "F".

The Jaspe-1 ST-2 appraisal well was drilled as a deviated well from the surface location of the Quifa-6 well on prospect "A" and slanted 60 degrees to the northeast. The well found the top of the Carbonera basal sands at 2,722 feet TVDSS, and the petrophysical evaluation identified a total of 19 feet of net pay, 13 feet with 31% porosity at the basal sand unit and 6 feet with 30% porosity in the Carbonera Intermediate sandstones, and an oil-water contact at 2,744 feet TVDSS. This interval at the Carbonera Intermediate Unit is considered a new objective in the prospectivity of Quifa North. The well is being readied for a long-term production test.

The Jaspe-3 stratigraphic well was drilled in prospect "A" at a distance of 6.2 km and 7.5 km northeast of the Jaspe-1 ST-2 and Quifa-6 wells, respectively. The Jaspe-3 was a deviated well, drilled at an angle of 30 degrees from a surface location and reaching a total depth of 3,057 feet TVDSS and reaching the top of the Carbonera basal sands at 2,706 feet TVDSS and the top of the Paleozoic at 3,006 feet TVDSS. The petrophysical evaluation of the well showed 29 feet of net pay at the interval, an average porosity of 31%, and the oil water contact at 2,746 feet TVDSS, 2 feet deeper than Jaspe-1 ST-2 well. These results confirm the extension of the "A" prospect to the northeast part of the Quifa Block and may extend the prospect 4.5 km in the same direction.

The Ambar-1 exploratory well, in prospect "F", was drilled as a deviated well from a surface location at a distance of 4.2 km southwest of the Quifa-26X stratigraphic well. The well found the top of the Carbonera basal sands at 2,556 feet TVDSS and the Paleozoic Basement at 2,716 feet TVDSS. The petrophysical evaluation of the well indicates a hydrocarbon column of 33 feet of sandstones and siltstones, with 16 feet of net pay and 35% average porosity, and the oil-water contact at 2,589 feet TVDSS. This well is also in the process of being ready for a long-term production test.

The Ambar-3 stratigraphic well was also drilled in prospect "F", at a distance of 3.2 km southwest of the Ambar-1 well. The Ambar-3 reached a total depth of 2,819 feet TVDSS and found the top of the Carbonera basal sands at 2,540 feet TVDSS and the top of the Paleozoic at 2,686 feet TVDSS. The basal sand unit at the well showed high shale content, resulting in only 2 feet of net pay at the interval and an oil-water contact at 2,552 feet TVDSS. This shale content in the basal sands is interpreted as being associated with flood plain shaly facies that develop close to the deposition of channel sandstones facies, but with restricted geographical extent. The presence of shale at this location should not be interpreted as a regional facies change, but as a local shale development. The Company is planning to review the geological interpretation of this area in order to plan additional wells which help to understand those facies changes in the western reaches of prospect F.

Tags: Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.