Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.’s subsidiary Meta Petroleum Corp., acting as operator of the Quifa Association Contract, has received commerciality approval from the Quifa Association Executive Committee, for a portion of the Quifa North block, to be called the Cajua field.

The Cajua field covers an area of approximately 38,000 acres and lies 20 km (12 miles) north of the Rubiales field, and approximately 30 km (19 miles) northeast of the Quifa SW field, which currently produce at a rate of over 173 Mbbl/d and 48 Mbbl/d respectively (total gross field production). The company operates all three fields with an approximate 41.8% gross working interest in Rubiales and 60% gross working interest in both the Quifa SW and the Cajua fields, while Ecopetrol SA holds the remainder of the working interest.

Ronald Pantin, the company’s CEO, said “Receiving the commerciality approval for the Cajua field will allow the company to move to full development phase and increase production from the field to a target level of 10 Mbbl/d by the end of this year, and an expected plateau rate of 15 Mbbl/d (total gross field production). Current exploration activity in the Quifa North block will shift to the almost 240,000 gross acres remaining in the block where the company has significant certified undeveloped 2P reserves and resources in additional undrilled prospects and leads.”