3 Top Oil Stocks to Buy in January

Instability in the Middle East always has an impact on the oil industry. Sometimes that impact is short-lived: Last year's drone strikes on Saudi oil facilities, for example, only caused a brief spike in oil prices. On the other hand, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 -- and the subsequent seven-month Gulf War -- caused Brent Crude prices to jump 130%. They didn't return to their pre-war levels until late 1993.

Right now, it looks as though tensions between the U.S. and Iran are de-escalating, but that could change at the drop of a hat. With that in mind, oil investors would be wise to focus on companies that don't have significant Middle East operations, and which aren't as affected by fluctuations in oil prices.

Three such stocks to consider are Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC), and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD).

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Source Fool.com