09:29 AM EDT, 05/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were leaning lower premarket Monday, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) declining marginally.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.6% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up 1.2%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.9% at $79.34 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude lost 0.8% to reach $83.32 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.5% at $2.67 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

NextDecade ( NEXT ) shares were up over 6% after the company said the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC, acquired a nearly 12% stake in phase 1 of the company's Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, which is expected to produce a less carbon-intensive LNG.

Shell (SHEL) is being asked by Norway's sovereign wealth fund to provide investors with more information about its climate targets, according to media reports. Shell stock was 0.4% lower in recent Monday premarket activity.