Tumultuous times have offered some of the best opportunities to buy stocks, and the market's recent mess surely qualifies. Although oil and gas giant BP (NYSE: BP) has been battered heavily following its Gulf oil spill, many investors expect better times ahead.

In our Motley Fool CAPS community, about 91% of the 4,973 investors rating the company are bullish, so there's no shortage of reasons why BP will thrive, three of which I've highlighted below.

But here at the Motley Fool, we're all for looking at both the good and bad sides of an investment. Once you're done with this article, you can read the case against the stock, weigh in with your own comments below, or rate BP yourself in CAPS.

1. Recovery track
BP has finally capped the Macondo well, which is partially owned by Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) and Mitsui, and is making progress on a relief well to finish the job. The costs of the oil spill may be steep, but BP is making moves to help pay for the costs by selling assets to Apache (NYSE: APA), Ecopetrol, and Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM). Some CAPS members see the compensation and new leadership at the top as a good tack toward recovery.

2. Strong underlying performance
Although oil spill related charges slammed BP's second-quarter bottom line, some CAPS members are taking notice of the rest of BP's quarterly performance. It generated a 31% increase in operating cash flow excluding spill-related costs, and similar to big quarterly revenue gains at other major oil companies such as Total (NYSE: TOT) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A), BP reported a 34% top-line increase. Despite the setbacks, BP's business remains strong.

3. Staying power
Many investors are eyeing BP's beaten down shares and think the company will maintain a strong position in the global oil industry. It has operations worldwide and continues to pursue new ventures -- like potentially teaming up with Chevron (NYSE: CVX) for South China Sea exploration -- giving evidence that BP is not in danger of losing its status as a top player in the market.  

To see details of what CAPS members are saying now about BP, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look -- or add your own thoughts directly to this story in the comments box below.