The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) struggled in October, closing the month down 0.1%.
But not all shares performed equally.
Leading ASX 200 energy shares returned some outsized gains.
The companies received some welcome tailwinds in the form of higher energy prices. Brent crude oil kicked off October trading for US$79.28 per barrel. By the end of the month that same barrel was worth US$84.38, up 6.4%.
Now that wasn't enough to lift all the ASX 200 energy shares.
Below we look at the 3 top performers for the month. Taken together, the 3 stocks gained an average of 8.5%. Quite an outperformance.
October's top 3 energy shares
Leading the pack last month was Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD). The diversified ASX 200 energy share, with a current market cap of roughly $7.4 billion, gained an impressive 9.3% in October.
Ampol's share price received a mid-month boost when it announced its agreement to acquire Z Energy Ltd (ASX: ZEL). The agreement valued Z Energy at approximately NZ$2.8 billion, with Ampol saying the acquisition would create a "Trans-Tasman fuel champion".
Ampol was also rewarded by investors for posting relatively strong third quarter results, released on 26 October.
Moving on to the second best performing ASX 200 energy share, we have Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR). Worley only just missed out on the top spot, delivering a gain of 9.2% in October.
Australia's largest oil and gas engineering group received a few boosts over the month with the announcements of major contract awards. Those included a service contract with global energy giant Shell.
Which brings us to our third best energy share for October, Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG). Origin finished the month up 7%.
Origin's share price benefited on several fronts last month. Among those was the company upgrading its guidance for the 2022 financial year (FY22).
Origin's shares also gained later in the month when the company reported it was selling a 10% stake in Australia Pacific LNG to EIG for $2.12 billion. Origin kept hold of its remaining 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific.
Do these ASX 200 energy shares pay dividends?
That covers off last months outperforming share price gains.
And these 3 ASX 200 energy shares also pay dividends.
Origin pays a 3.96% trailing dividend yield, unfranked.
Worley pays a 4.62% trailing dividend yield, unfranked.
And Ampol pays a 2.45% trailing dividend yield, 100% franked.
