TORONTO, Aug. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE; BVC: PREC; BOVESPA: PREB) today provided an update on its current operating activities. These include: (1) the receipt of the environmental licence required to increase water injection at the Rubiales field by an additional 1 MMbbl/d, allowing the Company to grow oil production in the field; (2) the announcement that International Finance Corporation ("IFC"), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested U.S.$150 million in Pacific Infrastructure Venture Inc. ("Pacific Infrastructure"); and (3) an update from Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. ("Karoon"), on Contingent Resources associated with the Kangaroo-1 exploration well.
Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:
"Receiving the licence for additional water injection is significant to the Company because it will allow us to increase oil production in the Rubiales field to a target level of approximately 220,000 bbl/d gross total field production by the end of this year, increasing from the 210,159 bbl/d gross total field production (70,495 bbl/d net production after royalties) during the first quarter of the year. The necessary water injection facilities have already been built, which will allow us to increase oil production relatively quickly.
"The Rubiales field provides an important source of revenue for our Company, our partner Ecopetrol, S.A. ("Ecopetrol") and for Colombia, in the form of royalties, taxes and spin-off economic activity. We would like to again acknowledge the efforts that the Colombian environmental authority, Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales ("ANLA"), has made to improve and streamline the licencing process including the new resolution of July 31, 2013 ratifying an expedited process to allow minor changes to existing environmental licences. We look forward to working with them to obtain the necessary licence required for the further exploration and development of the Company's CPE-6 Block, southwest of the Rubiales field.
"We are very pleased to have an investing partner of the stature of the IFC joining us in Pacific Infrastructure. This is the first IFC equity investment in an infrastructure project in Colombia and the largest greenfield equity investment by IFC globally. The investment provides an important endorsement of Colombia's stable and growing economic and business environment and confirms the vision and strategic importance of Pacific Infrastructure's Puerto Bahía import-export terminal and the OLECAR pipeline projects which are currently underway.
"Pacific Rubiales has made significant investments in Colombia's infrastructure over the last five years, which have enabled it to control the timing and pace of its oilfield developments, and capture additional components of the value chain. Pacific Infrastructure's assets are strategic to the Company's plans to substantially increase its oil production and export sales from Colombia over the next three years and will reduce the current dependence on Coveñas, the sole oil export terminal on the Colombian Caribbean coast.
SOURCE Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.