The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is bucking the wider selling trend on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Woodside is up 0.2% at time of writing, while the ASX 200 has given back early morning gains and is currently down 0.2%.
The Woodside share price has outperformed the benchmark for some time now.
Taking a look at the past 3 weeks, it's up 24% since the closing bell on 20 September. That compares to a 0.5% gain on the ASX 200.
Below we take a look at what's driving investor interest in the Aussie energy giant.
Namely…
A global energy crunch
There are numerous factors at play that determine any company's share price.
For the Woodside share price, one of those factors is the company's plans to merge with BHP Group Ltd's (ASX: BHP) oil and gas business, which it announced in mid-August.
But one of the strongest tailwinds the company has enjoyed of late is soaring energy prices.
As the world moves to reopen, demand for everything from coal, to natural gas, to crude oil (and more) is booming. Meanwhile, new supplies are lagging.
The result?
International benchmark Brent crude prices have rocketed 12.8% in just the past 3 weeks, from US$73.92 per barrel on 21 September to US$83.33 per barrel today.
These kind of price rises often go straight to the bottom line for commodity producers. That's because their fixed costs remain largely the same, regardless of the price of the fuel they pump from the ground.
Hence, the 24% leap in the Woodside share price isn't unexpected.
Indeed, most ASX energy shares have enjoyed a strong run lately. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ), for example, is up 20% in 3 weeks.
Woodside share price snapshot
As we saw above, the Woodside share price has slightly outpaced the Energy Index over the last 3 weeks and left the ASX 200 in the dust.
Year-to-date Woodside shares are up 10%. That's right in line with the 10% gains posted by the Energy Index and just edges out the 9% gains made on the ASX 200.
