Readers of this space know that I rarely favor stocks already over $50, let alone $100. But there are exceptions, and Core Laboratories (CLB) is one.

Note: The $100 stock price puts Core Labs in the high-risk category, in my interpretation, not suitable for low-risk and moderate-risk investors.

Core Labs is a leading reservoir optimizer, providing an impressive array of proprietary products and services for the energy sector. And, in an oil-hungry and energy-hungry world, Core's products and services are likely to continue to be in demand.

"The oil services and equipment industries have been a hotbed of M&A activity over the past few years, a trend that should continue into 2011," says energy sector specialist Elliott Gue.

The editor of The Energy Strategist explains, Three of my top 10 takeover plays hail from this part of the energy patch: Core Laboratories (CLB), Dresser-Rand (DRC) and Dril-Quip (DRQ).

"With a market capitalization of more than $100 billion, Schlumberger (SLB) should add to the dozens of acquisitions it's closed over the past few years.

In an era of elevated energy prices, one argument noted in this space before is that oil and oil/natural gas service companies are likely to remain promising plays for the foreseeable future, barring the discovery of a cheap, widely-available, alternative energy. With this in mind, Core Laboratories is worth a review.

Core Labs (NYSE: CLB) analyzes petroleum reservoir rock and fluids, helping oil companies determine how much oil or gas exists in their reservoirs and how quickly it can be extracted.

Analysts see +20% revenue growth for CLB in 2008 on strong oil/gas well analysis revenue. Analysts also like CLB's ramping hydraulic fracturing / field flooding and reservoir management services. The Reuters F2007/F2008 EPS consensus estimates for CLB are $4.86/$6.07

Further, with global oil/gas exploration activity expected to increase 20-35% in 2008 after +20% increases in 2007 and 2006, analysts believe Core will be able to continue to increase its business at healthy rates. (Oil exploration budgets are likely to decline only if oil prices remain below $50 per barrel for a sustained period.)

After last week's pick of SunPower, a solar energy company, it may seem strange that I'm now talking about fossil fuels. But there are several different ways to profit from the high price of oil -- and exploring other energy sources is only one of them.

Core Laboratories NV (NYSE:CLB) is one of the most innovative companies working today in the field of "reservoir description, production enhancement and reservoir management products and services to the oil and gas industry." In plain English, that means Core Labs helps oil and gas companies find new deposits of raw fuels, and get more fuel more efficiently from the ones they already have. And in a market where oil is fast becoming almost worth its weight in gold, having a corner on the market of making oil companies more efficient is almost like having a license to print money.

It's not surprising, then, that Core Lab has had 10 straight quarters of quarterly revenue highs, with a stock price to match. According to recent reports, the company showed a 41% net income gain in the 3rd quarter, and is estimating that full year revenues should be up 15% over 2006 (and there's anticipation of a 10-13% revenue growth in 2008 as well.) And the analysts agree -- FBR is estimating that the price could jump as much as 40% in the next 12 months, making it, in their opinion, a "top pick."

Fossil fuels, especially oil, always hold some degree of risk -- especially when oil is often found in volatile regions. But Core Lab has the advantage of operating out of more than 50 countries (the company is primarily based in The Netherlands), which means that some of that risk is mitigated by their ability to work in and around all of the world's major oil markets. There is also a concern that if the price of oil drops drastically, oil companies may be less eager to outsource this sort of analysis -- or they might be even more desperate for the innovations that Core Lab provides. For the moment, however, all signs point to this stock -- and this segment of the energy market -- continuing to ride high.

Type of Stock: Provides production enhancement and management services to the oil and gas industry.

Price Target: I'd keep an eye on this after a jump last week – if you can get it under $135, I'd grab it.

Hilary Kramer,author of the newly released Ahead of the Curve, is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing.