Therearen't any elephant-size oilfields left to discover in Western Canada,which has been heavily drilled for decades.
But there are stillplenty of juicy, multi-million-barrel targets left in places likeKurdistan, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Tunisia and Indonesia.
That'swhy firms like Bankers Petroleum, Petrominerales, Pacific Rubiales,Gran Tierra and Parex Resources have gone offshore to hunt for big game.
Ifyou've got an appetite for risk and you're looking for potential homeruns, some of these plays may be worth a look. Some have already rackedup huge gains over the last year, while others remain in penny-stockterritory.
All boast busy international exploration programs andare expected to generate a steady flow of news this year.
Here's aquick snapshot of some recent favourite analyst picks.
BankersPetroleum is rated a "top pick" by FirstEnergy analyst Martin Molyneaux,who carries a 12-month stock target price of $10.75. The shares closedFriday at $8.82, up from about $2 a year ago.
Bankers is active inAlbania, where it continues to boost output at its large Patos Marinzaoilfield.
A 52-well drilling program is planned for 2010, withproduction expected to reach 15,000 barrels a day by year's end, morethan double the 2009 year-end rate.
FirstEnergy isn't the onlydealer that likes Bankers. Of the 11 analysts who follow the stock, ninerate it a "strong buy," according to Zachs Investment Research.
Petrominerales,which is active in Colombia, also gets a "top pick" rating fromMolyneaux, who has a 12-month target of $42 on the stock. The sharesclosed Friday at $33.37, triple the year-ago price.
"Petromineraleshas started 2010 with tremendous exploration results from three wellsdrilled on the Guatiquia Block," Molyneaux says in a recent report.
Moredrilling results are expected over the next three months from theCorcel Block and Mapache Block in Colombia.
"We reaffirm ouropinion that Petrominerales will continue to surprise the market, as itutilizes the (nearly $850 million US) of cash flow we have forecastedthe company to generate in 2010," he adds.
Of the 18 analysts whofollow Petrominerales, all but five rate it a "strong buy" or a "buy,"according to Zachs.
Molyneaux also carries "outperform" ratings onsuch international explorers as Canacol Energy, Gran Tierra, ParexResources, Niko Resources and Pan Orient Energy.
Canacol (stockprice target: $1) is active in Brazil and Colombia, where Gran Tierra(target: $7.25) is also a player. Parex (target: $7) has properties inColombia as well as Trinidad and Tobago.
Niko (target: $125) hasbusy exploration programs in India, Indonesia and Iraq's Kurdistanregion, while Pan Orient (target: $10.75) is active in Indonesia andThailand.
Scotia Capital analyst Gavin Wylie is particularly keenon the Kurdistan region of Iraq, which he visited recently. VastExploration and Longford Energy are his top junior picks there.
"Thereis no doubt in our minds, Kurdistan holds the highest potential rewardfor small to mid-sized companies as targets are generally in excess of200 million barrels of recoverable oil," he says.
"With upcoming wells at Qara Dagh (spud early-May) andChia Surkh (late-2010), the catalyst potential remains extremely highfor Vast and Longford. It also appears increasingly likely thatshareholders and the board on both sides support the merger of Vast andLongford that would create a combined entity with two sizable and highlyprospective blocks," he adds.
Wylie carries a "sector outperform"rating on Vast's shares, with a one-year target price of $1.40. Theshares closed Friday at 82 cents. He has a "sector perform" rating onLongford and a target price of 45 cents, 14 cents above Friday's close.
Wyliealso carries "sector outperform" ratings on Parex and Pacific Rubiales,another high flyer that's active in Colombia and Peru. His one-yeartarget price on Pacific Rubiales shares is $23.50. The stock closedFriday at $21.27, quadruple the year-ago price.
At CanaccordCapital, the international players that rate as "buys" include severalof the firms mentioned above -- Bankers, Gran Tierra, Niko, PacificRubiales, Petrominerales -- plus such additional names as Alange Energyand TransAtlantic Petroleum. Alange (target: $1.05, more than double thecurrent price) is active in Colombia, while TransAtlantic (target: $4,versus $3.83 currently) is active in Turkey and Romania.
Canaccordalso carries "speculative buy" ratings on Vast Exploration, SterlingResources (which is active in the North Sea) and WesternZagros, which isexploring for oil in Kurdistan, like Vast.
Canaccord has aone-year target of $3.50 on Sterling's shares, which closed Friday at$2.46 apiece. Its target for WesternZagros is $1.75, more than doubleFriday's closing price of 80 cents.