Energy stocks were edging higher premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) advancing by 0.1%.
The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 0.8% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.5% lower.
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 0.4% higher at $79.64 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 0.1% to $84.77 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 1.1% at $2.87 per 1 million British Thermal Units.
Shell (SHEL) has kicked off a tendering process for drilling services at its Dragon offshore gas project in eastern Venezuela, pressing ahead with its plan to start drilling four wells from Q2 2027, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the process. Shell stock was up more than 1% pre-bell.
Halliburton (HAL) said it was awarded a multiyear contract from Aramco to provide stimulation and completion services supporting unconventional gas development in Saudi Arabia. Halliburton shares were 0.2% higher premarket.