Energy stocks were advancing premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) 1% higher.
The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 1.8% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.9% lower.
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 3% higher at $95.81 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 2.9% to $100.73 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 2.3% at $2.85 per 1 million British Thermal Units.
BP (BP) has attracted interest from several potential buyers for its North Sea operations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. BP shares were up more than 1% pre-bell.