09:10 AM EDT, 04/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining pre-bell Tuesday as the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was down 0.3% recently.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 1% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was down 1.9%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.2% at $80.93 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil lost 1% to $86.10 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 1.6% at $1.76 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Halliburton ( HAL ) was up 0.1% after it reported higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE) are among a number of energy companies in talks to buy stakes in Abu Dhabi National Oil's next liquefied natural gas export project in the United Arab Emirates, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Shell was slightly lower and TotalEnergies was 0.2% lower pre-bell.