01:31 PM EST, 01/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks climbed Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.8% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) rising 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index climbed 1.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 1%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell 1.5 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 700,000 in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell 2 million after a decline of 1 million in the previous week, a larger drop than the decrease of 850,000 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 3.3% to $80.02 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent advanced 2.4% to $81.85 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 1.8% to $4.04 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Prairie Operating ( PROP ) shares surged 44%. The company expects 2025 net income of $68.9 million to $101.7 million. One analyst polled by FactSet expects $75.8 million.