09:21 AM EDT, 05/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining pre-bell Tuesday as the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was down 0.5% recently.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 1.4% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was down 1.8%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.4% at $78.70 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 1.2% to $82.67 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 2.3% at $2.69 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Shell (SHEL) shareholders voted in favor of the company's new energy transition plan that includes weaker carbon-emissions targets while simultaneously rejecting a resolution filed by a group of investors seeking higher standards, according to media reports. Shell was 0.3% lower premarket.

Phillips 66 (PSX) agreed to buy Pinnacle Midland Parent from private equity firm Energy Spectrum Capital for $550 million in cash to expand natural gas gathering and processing in the Midland Basin. Phillips 66 was 0.1% higher pre-bell.