By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks drew strength from crude oil and early gains in the broader equities market Wednesday, as investors kept a watch for the government's latest figures on U.S. petroleum inventories. The sector continued its winning ways from the previous session, when the Federal Reserve signaled a willingness to keep interest rates low. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also figured into the energy mix, with the cartel reportedly expected to keep members' production quotas unchanged. Crude-oil futures moved past $82 a barrel, lending power to the energy sector. Within the Dow Jones Industrial Average, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM 67.40, +0.83, +1.25%) advanced 0.5% to $66.91 as Chevron (CVX 74.94, +0.96, +1.29%) rose 0.6% to $74.40. The 30-stock Dow industrials (INDU 10,725, +39.23, +0.37%) added 22 points, or 0.2%, in the early action. Also on the rise among the oil majors, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A 60.00, +0.99, +1.68%) gained 1.6% to $59.97, extending the previous session's move higher. Shell will make investments aimed at boosting production over the next few years, executives said. See full story on Shell's strategy for boosting output. Energy-sector benchmarks made broad gains. The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 1,093, +13.71, +1.27%) rose 0.9% to 1,090, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 216.38, +2.67, +1.25%) moved 0.8% higher to stand at 215 and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 555.86, +4.54, +0.82%) added 0.7% to 555. On the supply front, data compiled by the Energy Information Administration are forecast to show crude inventory built up by 2.1 million barrels for the week ended March 5, based on a poll of analysts by Platts. On average, analysts are looking a week-to-week drop of 338,000 barrels in gasoline inventories.

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