09:28 AM EDT, 05/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing pre-bell Thursday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLE ) 0.8% higher.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was up 3.4% and The United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 0.4% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 0.8% lower at $107.77 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 2.5% to $107.65 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.5% at $3.05 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Shell (SHEL), BP (BP), PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, and PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia signed agreements with Japan's Inpex for liquified natural gas offtake from the Abadi LNG Project at the Masela Block in offshore Indonesia, Inpex said. Shares of Shell and BP were up more than 1% premarket.

Equinor ( EQNR ) and BP joint venture Aker BP have agreed on several transactions to support production across their portfolio on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the companies said. Equinor ( EQNR ) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell.

Borr Drilling ( BORR ) stock was down more than 6% after the company reported a wider Q1 net loss.