Oil prices have dropped like a rock, and Americans are driving more as a result. So much for $4 gasoline changing the world. The green wave has run into a brick wall of lower crude prices.
In 2008, oil refiners like Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) had trouble making money due to intense volatility of prices. This year, it's a different story. Refiners make money by buying crude, processing and then selling gasoline and other by-products.
If crude is flying all over the place, margins decline. Now with prices stable, relatively speaking, and demand for gasoline increasing, owning a refiner is a great recession-buster stock for any portfolio.
In fact, Tesero is one of my Top 10 Stocks for 2009. I think TSO is a stock that can grow in this environment offering investors the potential to double their money. I've done so before with Tesoro in 2002.
Today is another great buying opportunity in TSO, no matter what is happening in the short term.
Click here for the full list of recession-proof stocks.
Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com.
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