09:39 AM EDT, 08/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were leaning lower in early Monday trading, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) down 0.2%.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was nearly 1% higher and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was down 1.4%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 1.1% higher at $64.33 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.9% to $67.79 per barrel. Natural gas futures were down 1.3% at $2.765 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Crescent Energy ( CRGY ) and Vital Energy ( VTLE ) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Crescent will acquire Vital for around $3.1 billion in an all-stock transaction, inclusive of Vital's net debt, the companies said. Crescent Energy ( CRGY ) shares were down nearly 11%, while Vital Energy ( VTLE ) stock was up nearly 4% in early trading.

SLB (SLB) said its OneSubsea joint venture was awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract by Equinor ( EQNR ) for a 12-well, electric subsea production system off the coast of Norway. SLB shares were down 0.7% while Equinor ( EQNR ) shares were down more than 1.6% in early trading.