09:25 AM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing premarket Thursday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLE ) 0.5% higher.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 1.3% lower and The United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up 1%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.9% at $97.22 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 5% to $112.79 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 3.8% higher at $3.18 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Equinor ( EQNR ) shares were up more than 5% after the company said it will establish two new business areas by splitting its marketing, midstream and processing unit.

TotalEnergies (TTE) stock was up more than 2% after the company said it has started production at its plastics recycling plant in France.

Shell (SHEL) shares were nearly 2% lower after the company said it is working closely with local authorities, partners, and customers to assess damage following Iran's attack on the Ras Laffan Industrial City natural gas refinery in Qatar.