The brutal downturn in the oil industry has cost energy investors tons of money. From large oil production companies to small onshore/offshore drillers, with Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) - Get Report down some more than 10% year to date after 23% declines in 2015, there's seemingly no good places to hide.

But in 2016 Halliburton (HAL) - Get Report has begun to stand out as an energy name poised to outperform its peers. The Houston-based oil-field service provider is scheduled to report fourth quarter fiscal 2015 earnings before the opening bell Monday. A competitor to larger rival Schlumberger (SLB) - Get Report , Halliburton has beaten Wall Street's earnings estimates in five straight quarters amid the energy downtown. Betting on anything other than an earnings beat Monday would be a mistake.

For the quarter that ended in December, the average analyst earnings-per-share estimate calls for 24 cents a share on revenue of $5.11 billion, compared to the year-ago quarter when it earned $1.19 a share on $8.77 billion in revenue. For the full-year, earnings are projected to be $1.49 a share, down from $4.02 a year ago, while revenue of $23.69 billion would mark a decline of 28%.

The projected quarterly and full-year earnings decline underscores the punishment energy companies have suffered to their businesses in the past 18 months. Like most energy companies, Halliburton -- during that span -- has worked to reset its business, slashing expenses budgets to reflect the "new normal" in oil -- one that no longer assumes $100 per barrel prices. Crude plunged below $29 per barrel on Tuesday.

On the company's conference call with analysts following its third-quarter results in October, Halliburton outlined a "two-pronged strategy" to not only weather the energy downtown, but also demonstrate how it is better equipped to make more money than its competitors. Halliburton President Jeff Miller explained the strategy, saying the company will first "control what we control in the short-term" and secondly, the company is "looking beyond the cycle and preparing for the recovery."

To quantify this strategy, Miller discussed Halliburton's cost-saving targets it expects to realize from its new fleet of pump design called Q10, which is described as having more "horsepower and reliability than any other pump in the industry," while having a reduced environmental footprint.

Why is this important? Halliburton expects to save the most money from these next-generation of pumps. According to Miller, "the Q10 requires 25% less capital on location, 30% less labor on site, and up to 50% less maintenance cost." This means even as oil prices hover near decade lows, the company can maintain its profit margins by meaningful reductions operating costs.

At present, the Q10 makes up roughly 50% of Halliburton's total fleet. Miller expect that percentage to rise to 60% by the end of the year. Add in the prospects of Halliburton's pending $35 billion merger with rival Baker Hughes (BHI) , which will help lower even more costs via merger synergies, Halliburton is a nice bounce-back energy play for 2016. The company has an average analyst 12-month price target of $47, which implies 46% gains from current levels.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.