ONE of the biggest events in an eventful fourth quarter of 2014 may have been something that didn’t happen.

As crude oil prices plunged during the period, investors counted on Saudi Arabia to announce a production cut to support the market when OPEC met in late November. The Saudis did not, and the decline accelerated.

West Texas Intermediate, the main American grade, fell 41.4 percent in the last three months of the year, to $53.46 a barrel. The price hit its 2014 peak, near $108, in June.

It’s no surprise that shareholders in mutual funds specializing in energy stocks were hit hard in the quarter; the average one tracked by Morningstar fell 20 percent. Some energy exchange-traded funds did modestly better. The Energy Select Sector SPDR lost 12.7 percent and Vanguard Energy dropped 14.9 percent in the quarter.

Those E.T.F.s provide broad exposure to energy. Others provide access to niches within the sector, like exploration and production, drilling and pipeline operation, that differ in their sensitivity to energy prices. That can make them more useful than mutual funds for investors who know exactly what piece of the industry they want to emphasize or how much risk they are willing to take.

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An Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, Calif. Some exchange-traded funds provide broad exposure to the energy industry, while others provide access to niches in the sector, like exploration and production, drilling and pipeline operation. Credit Reed Saxon/Associated Press

“Because of their sector and industry focus, E.T.F.s can give you the narrow exposure you want on a consistent basis,” said Todd Rosenbluth. director of fund research at S&P Capital IQ. “An active manager’s choices may not align with yours. E.T.F.s offer a cleaner, more direct way to get exposure to the theme you want.”

But which themes should investors want? These funds are not for everyone: There is little consensus on which way oil and related assets will head next, with reasonable cases made for prices to move in either direction.

American economic growth is accelerating, and the market is deeply oversold, the bulls say. Growth is slowing in China and virtually nonexistent in Europe, the bears counter, and Saudi Arabia’s decision not to come to the market’s rescue bodes ill for a swift rebound.

“There are people on both sides of the argument, but at least in the near term the path of least resistance is probably lower,” said Richard Steinberg, a partner in New York for HighTower. a nationwide firm of financial advisers.

Morris Mark, founder and managing partner of Mark Asset Management. is bearish enough to have eliminated all of the 12 percent exposure he had to energy at the start of 2014. Increased production is overwhelming the global oil market, in his view, and he expects prices to stay depressed until balance is restored, something he does not anticipate soon.

A sustained oil-price decline is unlikely “to be reversed until a broader-based environment of worldwide economic growth results in enough new demand to absorb that growing capacity,” Mr. Mark said in a note to shareholders. “Even in today’s uncertain geopolitical environment, production in Libya is going up, production in Iraq is being maintained and production in the Western Hemisphere is increasing.”

It is for now, but many companies don’t have the luxury of waiting for the world to recover. Some analysts speculate that Saudi Arabia’s decision not to cut production was meant to push North American rivals to rein in theirs. If that was the plan, it seems to be working. Two large domestic producers, ConocoPhillips and Apache, have announced cuts in 2015 spending plans, as have some smaller operators. Rystad Energy. a Norwegian consulting firm, estimates that global spending to drill new wells will fall to $365 billion this year from $400 billion if oil averages $70 a barrel, or to $350 billion with $60 oil, with greater declines in later years.

Lower output means that bear markets hurt the earnings of energy companies in two ways, said Daniel Morris, a global investment strategist at TIAA-CREF. in a recent report. The prices they command for their products fall, and they sell fewer of them.

But investors may still find winners against such a backdrop, especially after the steep plunge in energy stocks. Mr. Morris recommends the shares of domestic refinery operators.

“U.S. refiners have substantial competitive advantages relative to their European counterparts,” he said, “and U.S. stocks in the industry are likely to outperform those of the more expensive exploration and production companies.”

Mr. Steinberg cautioned that investing in refiners amounted to making a geopolitical forecast, always a tricky proposition. Refiners make money from the gap between what they pay for crude oil and what they get from selling refined products like gasoline.

Brent crude, the main European grade, has been trading at a high premium over domestic crude, partly because of tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, he noted. That lets American refiners benefit from lower input costs and high global prices for refined goods, a perfect combination that may not last.

Mr. Steinberg said that almost any energy investment would perform well if oil bounced back to $100 a barrel, but that he preferred the safer end of the spectrum, especially operators of storage centers and pipelines.

“If you own a pipeline, you don’t care if oil is $50 or $100, as long as it’s moving from Point A to Point B,” he said. “That’s the part of the food chain that I want to be in.” Investors have been selling shares of these safe businesses despite the tenuous connection to energy prices — leaving them cheap, in his view.

Although he prefers to invest company by company, Mr. Steinberg acknowledged that not everyone could survey the investment landscape with the same circumspection. He considers E.T.F.s useful alternatives.

“For somebody who doesn’t have the time or ability to do individual-company analysis, then, absolutely, E.T.F.s are the right way to go,” he said.

Mr. Rosenbluth agreed that infrastructure companies were “safer for a variety of reasons,” including the large dividends they pay, but he recommended avoiding them. The oil-price plunge has created a buying opportunity that he advised longer-term investors to exploit through E.T.F.s in industries that stand to capture it more fully. An example is Market Vectors Oil Services, which invests in providers of oil field services and equipment.

Those companies have “taken it on the chin,” he said, “but we think they’re undervalued.” The Market Vectors E.T.F. was down 25.3 percent for the full year and 38.1 percent from its high in early July.

John Gabriel, an analyst at Morningstar who covers energy E.T.F.s, likes the Market Vectors fund for similar reasons. It trades about 21 percent below where it should, he said, based on the fair values that Morningstar analysts calculate for the portfolio’s stocks, and he prefers vehicles that provide comparatively undiluted exposure to a rally in oil.

“This is probably where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck,” Mr. Gabriel said. “If you’re trying to bottom-fish and ride the rebound,” he added, such a fund “is going to give you the most leverage.”

For investors interested in broader exposure, Mr. Rosenbluth suggested the Energy Select Sector SPDR. He said its portfolio was concentrated in large companies, including Exxon Mobil. Chevron and Schlumberger. that offer consistency and strength, traits that could come in handy while the sector finds its footing.

“Oil will stabilize and move higher at some point,” he predicted, “but the recovery will be choppy, so larger companies will hold up better.”

Mr. Gabriel judges the SPDR E.T.F. to be 17 percent undervalued. He also finds another E.T.F. iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production. to be a bargain, at 20 percent below fair value. So-called E.&P. exchange-traded funds offer concentrated exposure to a rebound, as the service funds do, he said. They also offer concentrated risk if prices keep falling, but with the funds apparently cheap, even factoring in reduced earnings prospects, he views them as a risk worth taking.

“Energy is the most attractive sector based on valuations,” he said. “It’s not for the faint of heart, but for someone who wants to invest for the long term, this might be a good opportunity.”

A version of this article appears in print on January 11, 2015, on page BU12 of the New York edition with the headline: Trying to Capitalize on Lower Oil Prices, Through E.T.F.s. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe