Energy stocks were leaning lower premarket Thursday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) declining by 0.3%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 0.8% and The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.7% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.4% at $56.17 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.2% to reach $59.78 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 2.9% higher at $4.14 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Shell (SHEL) entered into agreements with DNO, wherein they will take on the latter's North Sea oil output and related offtake financing for up to $410 million, effective Jan. 1. Exxon Mobil shares were down 0.3% and Shell stock was 0.1% lower pre-bell.

BP (BP) said it appointed Meg O'Neill as chief executive officer, starting April 1, 2026. BP shares were down 0.5% premarket.

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) said it has hired Maria Khoury as chief financial officer, starting Jan. 19. Marathon Petroleum stock was up 0.3% pre-bell.