Hunting for oil in the world's six most promising frontiers

As smaller oil explorers head into promising new fields, some are bound to strike lucky: back the right minnow and you could land tomorrow's oil major today. Tom Bulford looks at the small-cap exploration companies leading the search for new oil reserves.

As smaller oil explorers head into promising new fields, some are bound to strike lucky: back the right minnow and you could land tomorrow's oil major today, says Tom Bulford.

Nothing kick-starts a share price like a major oil find. Last August investors in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (Aim: GKP) saw the value of their shares soar by 592% in just 20 days. Last month, investors in Rockhopper Exploration (Aim: RKH) had the same thrill ride, as the share price raced from 37p to 220p in less than a week. Each had struck black gold Gulf Keystone in the northern Iraq region of Kurdistan; Rockhopper in the south Atlantic, close to the Falkland Islands.

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Tom worked as a fund manager in the City of London and in Hong Kong for over 20 years. As a director with Schroder Investment Management International he was responsible for £2 billion of foreign clients' money, and launched what became Argentina's largest mutual fund. Now working from his home in Oxfordshire, Tom Bulford helps private investors with his premium tipping newsletter, Red Hot Biotech Alert.