In his latest RealMoney column, Validea CEO John Reese takes a look at some top plays in an often turbulent industry that seems to be relatively calm these days: oil.

“Today, with fracking generating newfound sources of the black gold, a coup in Egypt, a change in command in Venezuela and a Syrian civil war (among other issues), one would expect the industry’s turmoil to continue,” Reese writes. “But it hasn’t. Oil prices are pretty steady at about $100 a barrel or less, prices at the pump are high but not at panic levels, and the industry is generally doing well.”

“The focus of investors is often on the oil majors such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, but smaller players are worth considering,” Reese adds. He uses his Guru Strategies (computer models based on the approaches of Warren Buffett and several of history’s other great investors) to find several top picks in the industry. Among them: Marathon Petroleum.