Energy stocks were rising pre-bell Thursday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) advancing by 0.3%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 1% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.1% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 1.2% higher at $92.11 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 0.8% to $96.35 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.1% at $2.99 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Diversified Energy (DEC) has agreed to acquire Birch Permian and affiliates for a gross purchase price of about $1.8 billion, the company said. Diversified Energy shares were up more than 1% premarket.