NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Energy stocks rose to their highest levels all year ahead of key weekly inventory data on Wednesday, even as the broad market traded flat. The NYSE Arca Oil Index rose (XOI 1,043, +12.61, +1.22%) 0.7% to 1,038, a new mark for the year. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 505.33, +8.39, +1.69%) gained 1% to 501, also a high for 2009. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 192.95, +2.66, +1.40%) rose 0.9% to 192. Oil futures edged up 8 cents to $71.01. Analysts surveyed by Platts expect crude-oil inventories to have fallen by 3.0 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 11. See Futures Movers. Among stocks in the spotlight, Anadarko Petroleum (APC 63.92, +4.75, +8.03%) jumped 6% to $62.85. The company said it struck oil in a well off the coast of Sierra Leone and raised the prospects for more discoveries in waters in other West Africa locales. See full story. "The Venus discovery confirms the existence of an active petroleum system in the basin and enhances the prospectivity of our vast West Africa acreage position," said Bob Daniels, Anadarko's senior Vice President of Worldwide Exploration. Chevron (CVX 72.48, +0.85, +1.19%) rose 0.4% to $71.89. Korea Gas Corp. and Chevron Corp. said inked a preliminary deal for liquefied natural gas from the Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia. Australian Resources Minister Martin Ferguson called the agreement "potentially the largest long-term LNG contract between Australia and South Korea," according to a report by Dow Jones Newswires. Marathon Oil (MRO 33.24, +0.30, +0.91%) said it began production from its second major field off the coast of Norway. The Volund development is expected to reach a peak oil production of approximately 25,000 barrels per day. Shares rose 0.4% to $33.07. BP (BP 54.14, +0.02, +0.04%) said it's divested its wind power interests in India to focus on its U.S. portfolio. Green Infra Limited has purchased BP's subsidiary, BP Energy India Private Limited which owns and operates three wind farms in India with a total generating capacity of approximately 100 megawatts, for a total cash-free, debt-free enterprise value of 4.622 billion rupees, or $95 million. Green Infra Limited is an independent power producer owned by funds managed by India's leading infrastructure-focused private equity company, IDFC Private Equity. Shares of BP dipped 3 cents to $54.09.

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