Energy stocks were lower premarket Wednesday, with The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.2%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.8% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 1.4%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.6% at $73.31 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 0.6% to reach $77.02 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 1.8% at $3.41 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Schlumberger (SLB) and ChampionX's (CHX) proposed merger will be placed under a phase 1 inquiry by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, according to a Wednesday statement by the regulator. Schlumberger shares were down 0.2% while ChampionX shares were 1.3% lower.

Hess (HES) stock was 1.2% higher after the company reported higher Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Hess Midstream (HESM) shares were up 2.2% after the company posted higher Q4 net income and revenue.