09:25 AM EST, 03/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining premarket Tuesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) recently slipping by 0.2%.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.6% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was down 0.1%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.9% at $78.03 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil lost 0.7% to $82.23 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 0.5% higher at $1.93 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Kosmos Energy ( KOS ) was slipping past 11% after saying it intends to offer $300 million of convertible senior notes due 2030 in a private placement.

Patterson-UTI Energy ( PTEN ) said it operated an average of 122 drilling rigs in the US during February. Patterson-UTI Energy ( PTEN ) was down more than 2% pre-bell.

Bunge (BG) and Chevron ( CVX ) will build a new oilseed processing plant in Louisiana as part of a final investment decision for their Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables joint venture, the companies said. Chevron ( CVX ) was 0.2% lower in recent premarket activity.