09:01 AM EDT, 03/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were edging higher premarket Friday, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.2% recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.4% higher, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 1.4%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.2% at $81.25 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark Brent gained 0.2% to $85.96 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 0.7% lower at $1.67 per 1 million BTU.

Eni (E) said it has received approval from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for the construction and operations of the HyNet North West CO2 pipeline. Eni was up 0.3% in recent premarket activity.