When we last compiled a new Best Buys list almost exactly six months ago energy stocks were the cat’s meow, their issuers feted with daily ticker-tape parades as the growth industry that almost single-handedly saved the American economy.

Even then, the hype was readily apparent and we duly cautioned about “downside price risk in crude” and the likelihood of a “near-term correction” in energy equities.

Of course we also got plenty wrong; to err is human and to err often is an unavoidable occupational hazard of analyzing, predicting and investing.

A bit of caution was simply not enough to cope with the drubbing inflicted on the entire energy sector over the last few months, and in particular over the first two weeks of December.

The first eight picks on that June Best Buys list were selected explicitly with the idea of avoiding major losses and to a certain extent they succeeded, losing an average of 18.3% from those speculation-fueled highs of early summer.

For comparison’s sake, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLE) is down 20% since June 27. The XLE was saved from a worse fate by top holding Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), which has only shed 7.3% over that span, and by fourth-largest component Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI), which broke out of its longtime doldrums by buying out its affiliated master limited partnerships.

Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production ETF (NYSE: XOP) is down 40% in six months, in a performance more representative of the typical energy stock.

The good news is that the trend line of the last few months is unlikely to persist in the new year. Energy stocks remain deeply oversold and are once again unloved, while crude and natural gas prices are low enough to severely discourage the investment that will be needed soon to meet growing global energy demand.

The energy commodities and equities alike have undergone a massive shift in sentiment that’s blown many speculators right out of the water. It’s safe to say most energy shares are by now in strong hands willing and able to ride out the slump in prices.

At the same time, the world is moving on from the panic that followed last month’s do-nothing OPEC meeting. Saudi Arabia has just unveiled a 2015 budget that seems to be assuming $80-a-barrel crude while still running a huge deficit. Libya’s main oil port is besieged and production down significantly from the summer. U.S. shale keeps delivering based on capital spending plans approved a year ago, but the oil rig count is now down 5% from its October record and likely to keep dropping.

With production costs, credit conditions and geopolitics pointing to higher medium-term prices, we’re faced with the trade-offs between sticking with the conservative picks that have weathered the storm relatively well to this point, and doubling down on some of the smaller and more speculative names that have been beaten down much more severely and very likely offer more upside should oil prices rebound.

Today’s updated Best Buys list contains some of both, but continues to give precedence to the larger and more secure picks that can withstand a prolonged slump in case we’re wrong about oil and gas prices. And it includes some of the midstream services providers that have been among our top performers this year and are poised to continue to do well in almost any imaginable commodity scenario.

1. EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG)

The leading shale driller offers an unrivaled combination of scale, growth and profitability built on ownership of the sweetest spot in Eagle Ford, the most lucrative shale oil play. Oil production increased by a third this year while profits fully financed capital spending as well as a modest dividend that nearly doubled in 2014. EOG’s acreage in its three key oil plays, the Eagle Ford, Bakken and Permian, would produce a 10% after-tax rate of return with crude at $40 a barrel. With crude at $80 a barrel, the return rate would rise to 100%. Hedges in 2015 and beyond are modest relative to overall production volumes, so cash flow would certainly take a hit at current prices. But the quality of EOG’s assets, its excellent operating record and an almost entirely unlevered balance sheet are all long-term backstops. Buy EOG below $100.

2. Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN)

Over the last year Devon has completed a dramatic transformation that saw it unload its Canadian gas and non-core U.S. assets for more than $5 billion, while spending $6.4 billion to secure a big chunk of Eagle Ford core that’s already seen a 76% production boost in the nine months since the acquisition. Devon’s Permian turf has been another key driver of production growth that led the company to upgrade its annual guidance last month. Management expects crude output to increase 20% to 25% in 2015 under flat capex spending. With a rock-solid balance sheet and more than 50% of next year’s oil output hedged at $91 a barrel, Devon is likely to continue growing fast without running up debt. Buy DVN below $70.    

3. Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE)

The sponsor of the largest family of master limited partnerships is reaping a growing proportion of their cash flows via incentive distribution rights without having to match capital contributions by MLP limited partners. Energy Transfer’s well diversified interests in gas gathering, transportation and processing, crude transport and logistics, gasoline distribution and retailing and LPG and LNG exports provide a leveraged play on growth in midstream services. ETE units have returned 28% since our March recommendation, despite declining 11% in the last month. The current distribution yields 2.9% and is highly likely to increase at a double-digit rate for years to come, based on affiliated long-term, fixed-fee contracts. Buy ETE below $66.

4. EQT (NYSE: EQT) 

The leading and lowest-cost Marcellus gas driller controls the core of the prolific play’s liquids-rich window, and has parlayed that advantage into rapid growth financed with operating cash flow and asset sales. The company is targeting production growth of 25% with flat capital spending next year. It’s also a sponsor of a fast-growing midstream MLP that’s providing cheap capital for infrastructure improvements. EQT’s 580,000 net Marcellus acres provide a blended after-tax return rate of 26% even with natural gas sold at $3 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). At the more probable longer-term price of $4/MMBtu the rate of return rises to 59%. Roughly half of the projected 2015 output is hedged above $4.21/MMBtu. Buy EQT below $99.

5. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)

Asset sales as well timed as Devon’s have transformed this onetime overspender and troubled borrower into a candidate for an investment-grade credit rating. Like Devon, Chesapeake and its ambitious new boss have emphasized growth in lucrative crude output while divesting declining natural gas wells. In Chesapeake’s case, this drive has culminated with the recent sale of non-core Marcellus gas assets accounting for 7% of recent output for $5 billion, representing more than 40% of the stock’s recent market cap. The company has allocated $1 billion of the proceeds toward a new share buyback, while securing an additional $4 billion in financing to backstop investments. Recent production growth has been achieved while squeezing costs, expanding margins and keeping capex below cash flow from operations. More than a third of next year’s .likely crude output is hedged at more than $93 per barrel. We’re transferring Chesapeake from the Aggressive to Growth portfolio in line with its diminished risk. Buy CHK below 26.

6. Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL)

The largest Bakken driller following its recently completed merger with Kodiak Oil & Gas, Whiting now derives three-quarters of its output from the Williston Basin. Its 855,000 net acres in the key shale play encompass more of its sweet spot than anyone else has secured and wells there can provide a 43% internal rate of return with West Texas Intermediate crude at $70, according at the company. At that price, Whiting expects to recoup its drilling cost in less than two years. Improved drilling techniques have led the company to project 20% production growth next year with flat capital spending. The company is largely unhedged for next year and beyond, a risk reflected in the stock’s 63% plunge over the last four months. But that also gives the stock much more upside exposure to a rebound in oil prices. Even if the slump proves prolonged, Whiting’s balance sheet and asset base are good enough to make it one of the very likely survivors. Buy WLL below the reduced limit of $40.

7. Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP)

The largest of Energy Transfer Equity’s (NYSE: ETE) operating affiliates, ETP retains a GP interest in the Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) gasoline distribution MLP, as well as an interest in the new LNG export terminal Energy Transfer plans to operate in Louisiana. The secure 6.1% distribution yield looks relatively rich given the recent acceleration in payout increases. Energy Transfer’s long-term fee-based contracts should shield it from weak energy prices, even as cheap gasoline boosts profits at its filling stations. Buy ETP below $70.

8. WPX Energy (NYSE: WPX)

The orphaned oil and gas producer is now trading at less than 60% of tangible book value, despite year-over-year growth of 50% in cash from operations driven by surging crude output in the Bakken. While that play is likely marginal at current prices, WPX does have some of the most attractive wells in the basin. It has also hedged some 70% of its recent crude production rate at nearly $95 per barrel for 2015. The developing San Juan Gallup sandstone crude play is prized by management above even its Bakken assets, and will keep crude output growing briskly in 2015. Meanwhile, the company’s legacy Colorado gas production has just become more profitable with the expiration of an onerous shipping commitment, and could fetch a premium in the future in a potentially undersupplied U.S. West. With $300 million recently realized from the sale of some of its Marcellus acreage, $1.3 billion available on a credit line and most debt not due for at least seven more years, WPX has plenty of latitude not only to survive but to transform itself into a valuable crude producer. Buy WPX below $21.

9. Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO)

The stock of the growth-oriented crude producer in the Eagle Ford and Niobrara has produced a positive return in a little more than a year since we recommended it, proof of how far the stock had come and how well it’s weathered the recent slump. The share price is down by a third since Labor Day, a slap on the wrist for an aggressive midcap grower like Carrizo. That’s certainly more than warranted by the fundamentals, which have Carrizo’s oil output growing more than 60% in 2014 thanks mostly to Eagle Ford wells offering a 20% rate of return at current prices and double that should costs decline 20%. Debt leverage is relatively modest at 2x EBITDA, and Carrizo has a flexible spending plan for 2015 that will downgrade development of the Utica shale and then the Niobrara if prices remain weak. Approximately half of the recent production rate is hedged for 2015 above $92 a barrel. Buy CRZO below $59.

10. ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP)

The big safe driller with a 4.6% dividend yield has already chopped capital spending by 20% for 2015, mainly thanks to the reduced funding needs of Australian LNG and the Canadian oil sands projects nearing completion. ConocoPhillips will also pull back from developing U.S. shale plays other than its underappreciated production core in the Eagle Ford and the Bakken. Its large positions in these plays are among the most economical in the business. While growth trails that of many shale pure plays, COP offers diversification into low decline businesses like the oil sands and LNG, where the money already spent will produce attractive, predictable cash flows for years to come. ConocoPhillips is likely to cover much of its capex out of operating cash flow despite the lower energy prices, en route to its goal of full self-financing by 2017. Buy COP below $78.    

11. Jones Energy (NYSE: JONE)

The small-cap crude driller in the niche, low-cost Cleveland sandstone Mid-Continent play is now being valued at some $570 million, or less than two times its annualized cash flow from operations. The company has $261 million outstanding under a low-cost $625 million credit line and owes another $500 million in bonds not due to mature for seven-plus years. Hedges protect some 60% of the likely oil and gas output next year at levels the company projects would cut its adjusted cash profits by just 5% or so at current prices. Jones is taking advantage of low drilling, transport and land acquisition costs to achieve scale in a multiple-stack basin with very predictable and lucrative well performance. Buy JONE below $16.

12. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV)

The longtime oil industry gag is that NOV stands for No Other Vendor, a testament to a breadth of products and services no other oilfield supplier can match. NOV provides the basic and not so basic equipment, and related services, without which energy production would quickly grind to a halt. The bulk of revenue and profit comes from recurring business well-shielded from commodity price ups and down. The 23% slide in the share price since Labor Day has left NOV valued at less than 7 times annual operating profit. That’s cheap for an industry leader that’s recently delivered earnings and revenue growth above 15% annually. Management expects a relatively shallow downturn in oilfield equipment demand next year, followed by a robust recovery on 2016 and beyond based on the fundamentals of energy demand and the decline of legacy oilfields. The dividend yields 2.8% yet consumes less than a quarter of the operating cash flow, enabling significant share buybacks that will further boost earnings per share.  Buy NOV below $82.

13. Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP)

The sponsor of a gathering, processing and port logistics MLP has been hit hard by worries about the effect of lower energy prices on its long-term outlook, but it’s involvement in many of the most attractive shale plays with a preponderance of fixed-fee revenue from long-term contracts suggests such fears are misplaced. The recent buyout of Atlas Energy (NYSE: ATLS) and Atlas Pipeline Partners (NYSE: APL), scheduled to close early in 2015, provides scale, cost savings and perhaps most importantly a tax shield that will enable Targa to boost its dividend 35% next year; it already yields 2.7%. Buy TRGP below $140.   

14. AmeriGas Partners (NYSE: APU)

The leading wholesale and retail propane distributor has outperformed just about every other investment during this autumn’s slump. That’s because it’s proven its ability to gradually expand its margin in a variety of commodity price environments and weather patterns. The generous 7.3% yield from a secure, predictably if slowly growing distribution and low unit price volatility are the main attractions here. So’s the fact that AmeriGas has very little exposure to the commodity price cycle. Buy APU below $51.  

15. Global Partners (NYSE: GLP)

This is another odd duck laying golden eggs: a wholesale and retail fuel distributor focused primarily on the Northeast with a growing transcontinental rail logistics business and a secure 7.8% yield. The unit price has been caught up in the selling of the more illiquid MLPs in recent weeks based on the (likely modest) logistics exposure to a drilling slowdown, whereas the filling station and wholesale distribution businesses that are even more important to the partnership tend to thrive when fuel prices are low. The distribution rose 9% over the last year. Buy GLP below $50.