The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is among the leaders of the ASX 200 energy sector today.
It's bringing up the lead out of the 3 majors, with the Woodside share price having gained 1.33% to trade at $19.75.
Meanwhile, the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is up 1.16% at $6.12 and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) shares have boosted 0.27% to reach $3.75.
However, some of the S&P/ASX 200 Index's (ASX: XJO) smaller energy companies are blowing Woodside Petroleum out of the water today.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT), with its $2.3 billion market capitalisation, has seen its share price gain 3.52% to trade at $1.09. While the share prices of Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) and Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) are also outdoing Woodside's, with gains of 4.74% and 1.6% respectively.
In fact, the only ASX 200 energy share seeing red today is Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA). Its share price has fallen 0.23% to trade at $2.13.
Let's look at what's turned the ASX 200 energy sector into a sea of green today.
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What's boosting the share price's of Woodside and its peers?
It's a good day to be an energy company on the ASX.
The share prices of Woodside and its ASX 200 energy peers are gaining alongside the price of oil.
At the time of writing, the Brent Oil price has increased 0.63% to trade at US$72.34 a barrel. The Crude Oil WTI price has also gained 0.69% and it currently sitting at US$68.97 per barrel.
That fortunate occurrence may well be what's keeping the ASX 200 energy sector, and the Woodside share price, in good spirits today.
Meantime, the broader market is having a rough trot today. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 Index has slipped 0.27% with the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also down 0.27%.
