A swathe of junior oil firms got a lift as the price of crude rose as much as 20% from recent lows, to end the week close to US$60 per barrel.
Xcite Energy (LON:EXL), the North Sea heavy-oil field developer, gained more than 25% to trade around the 35p marker.
Ithaca (LON:IAE) and Faroe (LON:FPM), also in the North Sea, rallied while Falkland Islands’ focused Rockhopper (LON:RKH) also ranked among the week’s bigger gainers.
And the broader small cap market benefitted from the dose of positivity.
Shares in Globo (LON:Globo) were lifted as it said full year 2014 revenues had beaten market expectations, thanks to the mobile phone software firm's strong organic growth.
Sales of Globo’s Go!Enterprise software increased 90% to €57mln, driving a 48% increase in group revenues to €106mln.
African food haulage and distribution group AfriAg (LONAFRI) gained more than a fifth thanks to a new distribution deal that will see produce from Mozambique shipped to UK supermarkets and other international markets.
An AfriAg subsidiary won the contract to transport baby-corn and chilli to South Africa where it will be air-freighted.
Chairman David Lenigas described the contract as “transformational” and told his Twitter followers the deal will grow AfriAg by an “unimaginable” amount.
Gemfields’ (LON:GEM) marketing tie-up with Hollywood A-lister Mila Kunis continued to provide sparkling photo opportunities as the actress was snapped wearing the firm’s rubies at the premiere of new sci-fi blockbuster Jupiter Ascending.
West African Minerals (LON:WAFM) revealed a ‘high quality’ iron ore deposit with a maiden resource in coastal Cameroon.
The 83mln tonne deposit is just 60km from the port at Douala and previous testing indicate premium grade concentrate could be produced from it.
South American copper firm Metminco (LON:MNC) says it made "considerable progress" towards an acquisition of a near-term cash flow project and also reminded investors of a pending update to mineral resources at the Los Calatos project in Peru, which is due to be completed in March.
Mariana (LON:MARL) gained as much as 30% at the start of the week as ‘excellent’ exploration results were unearthed from the Hot Maden gold-copper project in Turkey.
It is a quick win for the AIM firm as the discovery comes from the portfolio of newly acquired Aegean Metals Group, which it has just bought via a C$2.4mln all-paper deal.
AIM’s oil winners weren’t just confined to relief-rallies.
Elsewhere Rose Petroleum (LON:ROSE) shares advanced as its first well in the Mancos play, in Utah, was a success - both confirming shale formations and also discovering deeper conventional reservoirs. The deeper reservoirs will now be brought into production whilst the shale findings are being evaluated.
Empyrean Energy (LON:EME), another US shale junior, took down the ‘for sale’ sign after low oil prices deterred potential buyers. Significant levels of interest and indicative proposals had been received through a formal process; however, none were at a value that the company deemed appropriate.
Antipodean oiler Mosman (LON:MSMN) rose strongly, about 35%, as it decided to proceed with flow testing plans for a discovery it drilled last year. Director share buying later in the week also helped underpin investor interest.
It wasn’t all good news for oil punters, however, as a former small cap favourite Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LON:GKP) slumped 10% on Friday after cancelling oil exports from Kurdistan amid uncertainty over payment schedules and low crude prices.