"I'm adding Bucyrus International (NSDQ: BUCY) -- a maker of mining equipment -- to our 'Wildcatters Portfolio' as a play on coal," says Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, the advisor explains, "With commodity prices recovering and Chinese demand for coal picking up once again, Bucyrus has likely seen the trough in its new equipment business."

"Bucyrus' top end-market is coal, which accounts for more than three-quarters of the firm's business. Coal mining equipment includes draglines, a sort of giant scoop used to scrape away the overburden (rocks and dirt) that covers coal.

"The oil-services sector remains my favorite long-term play in the energy industry," says sector specialist Elliott Gue. In The Energy Strategist, the advisor looks to industry-leader Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB).

Gue explains, "Oil services firms will benefit directly from the increasing technical complexity of oilfield development. International business is the primary driver for Schlumberger, which generated only 22% of its revenues from North America in 2008.

"The important question is, where do we sit in the cycle for international operations? In my view, the second half of 2010 will mark the beginning of a new uptrend.

"The US natural gas storage cycle is fairly straightforward: More gas is consumed in winter than in summer because natural gas is a key source of heat," explains Elliott Gue.

In his industry-leading The Energy Strategist, the energy sector specialist makes a bullish case for natural gas as well as contract driller Nabor's Industries (NYSE: NBR).

"The year started off with gas storage levels falling in line with the average. In late February or early March that all changed: Storage levels jumped and eventually broke to a new five-year high.

"Canadian energy giants Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) and PetroCanada (NYSE: PCZ) announced their intention to merge; Suncor, a holding in our 'Wildcatters Portfolio' will be the surviving entity," says Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, he explains, "The combined firm will be the fifth-largest energy company in North America and the largest in Canada." Here, he explains why the new stock remains a buy.

"The combined firm will have more financial flexibility than Suncor did on its own. Debt ratios will be healthier, and the combined firm will also be able to redirect certain planned capital expenditures to higher return potential projects.

Energy sector specialist Elliott Gue sees opportunity in Transocean (NYSE: RIG), a leadin player in the deepwater drilling area. Here's the latest advice from The Energy Strategist.

"The market for deepwater rigs, however, has remained resilient and one drilling with direct leverage to deepwater rigs is US giant, Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling company, with 136 rigs as well as ten under construction.

"Roughly 68 of those rigs are 'semisubmersibles,' and 39 are ultra-deepwater or deepwater rigs capable of drilling many of the complex plays being targeted around the world today.

This post is part of a 12-article feature that can be read here: Today's best income ideas.

"Master limited partnerships have been among the market's most stable and reliable groups; but 2008 was a painful exception, with the benchmark index down nearly 37%, the worst performance in its 13-year history," says Elliott Gue.

In Personal Finance he now sees a "great opportunity" for investors to takes positions in this high-yielding sector. Here's a trio of favorite investment plays in the MLP arena.

"Valuations for even the best-placed, most well-established companies in the energy space are sitting at levels unseen since the late 1990s when oil prices collapsed to around $10 per barrel," says energy sector specialist Elliott Gue.

Here, the editor of The Energy Strategist looks at Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), noting, "The firm active in just about every imaginable market and I regard the company as a top-notch indicator of ongoing trends in the oil services business."

"It's clear that there's been some slowing in demand, and the credit crunch has had an impact on the fundamental business. But the reaction in the stock market over the past three months goes well beyond even a worst-case scenario.

"Bottom line: Many energy-related stocks are pricing in a severe recession and recent action in the broader markets is reminiscent of sentiment characteristically seen near market lows. The short-term outlook for the energy patch is much better now than it was during the bear market in 1998 and 2002.

"I regard Schlumberger as a top-notch indicator of ongoing trends in the oil services business and, more broadly, international oil and gas drilling activity. I always pay close attention to what Schlumberger has to say in its conference calls and, as usual, this quarter's call was instructive.

"If there's one sector that stands to benefit handsomely from a further slide in oil or, at least, a moderation in crude's rally: the airlines," explains energy sector expert Elliott Gue.

In The Energy Strategist, he says, "Airlines may make a terrible long-term investment but can be an outstanding short-term trade." Here he looks at Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and, for the even more speculatively-inclined, US Airways (NYSE: LCC).

"Some investors will rightfully cringe from any mention of this sector; after all, the airlines have consistently lost money throughout their post-deregulation history.

"Most of the majors have declared bankruptcy on multiple occasions since that time. However, we've traded the airlines on a few occasions; we took some triple-digit percentage gains in the airlines back in 2005.

"The airlines' leverage to oil prices is well known. Expectations are so low, in fact, that several major air carriers actually managed to beat consensus expectations in the second quarter.

"And although sentiment is already at rock-bottom, there's a real basis for cautious optimism. First, if I'm right about oil, fuel costs won't rise appreciably in the third quarter. This huge headwind is dissipating.

"One of my favorite indicators for the energy markets is the quarterly conference calls and earnings releases from Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB)," says energy sector expert Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, he explains, "In this quarter's call, Schlumberger's management team was notably upbeat, the most positive on industry growth expectations in more than a year. This is a key shift in sentiment that has broader implications for the energy patch at large."

"Schlumberger's reports and conference calls have proved extraordinarily useful in the past for determining the most profitable trends and investment themes. The reason for that is simple: Schlumberger is the largest oilfield services company and has its hand in just about every imaginable market all over the world.

"In addition, the company has traditionally offered long, detailed conference calls; CEO Andrew Gould often relates far more than the outlook for Schlumberger and offers considerable color and detail concerning trends for the industry in general.

"This quarter's conference call was no exception. Schlumberger's outlook this quarter was far more upbeat than in its third and fourth quarter 2007 earnings calls.

Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), a master limited partnership (MLP), is the top conservative pick for 2007 from energy expert Elliott Gue, editor of The Energy Strategist.

"MLPs trade on the major exchanges just like any stock. But there are some big tax benefits to owning MLPs, offering a combination of high current income and the potential for that income to grow rapidly over time.

"Enterprise Products is the largest MLP in the U.S. Unlike most other big MLPs, Enterprise hasn't slowed its distribution growth substantially in recent years. In fact, the MLP has maintained an impressive 9%+ annualized growth rate in distributions during the past five years. .

Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Energy Metals (NYSE: EMU) is the favorite speculative pick for 2007 from Elliott Gue. The editor of The Energy Strategist explains, "The supply/demand balance for uranium is tighter than for just about any other major commodity; supply of natural uranium from mines just isn't enough to cover even current demand. And with a global building boom for nuclear power plants underway, demand for uranium is only going to rise.

"In late October, uranium mining giant Cameco announced that it was experiencing uncontrollable water inflow into one of its key new mine projects, delaying the project from in early 2008 to, perhaps, mid-2009 for this mine.

"By around 2008, some utilities will be running low on uranium inventories to fuel their existing reactors. And there aren't many other sources of uranium out there to fill the void. For an aggressive play on this trend, consider Energy Metals. The stock, previously only listed in Toronto, recently listed its shares on the NYSE.

"While Energy Metals is headquartered in Canada, most of its projects are located in the U.S. Its Hobson facility in Texas is a licensed processing plant that is currently capable of processing 500,000 pounds of uranium oxide (yellowcake) annually from ISL liquids. This plant could produce as much as 1 million pounds of yellowcake annually once EMU completes upgrades to the facility.