03:59 PM EDT, 08/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was adding 1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was little changed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 0.7% to $62.71 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent shed 0.6% to $65.71 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.6% to $2.82 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose 3.3 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 8 following a decrease of 2.8 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rebounded 3 million barrels after a 3 million barrel decline the previous week, compared with the 912,000 barrel decrease expected in a Bloomberg survey.

Separately, in its monthly Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency again trimmed its 2025 demand-growth forecast to 680,000 barrels per day, down by 20,000 bpd from July, on weaker-than-expected demand from developing economies.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) could invest up to $21.7 billion in Trinidad and Tobago if it discovers oil and gas reserves in a deepwater block awarded to the energy giant, media outlets reported Wednesday, citing a speech by the country's Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal. Exxon shares rose 1.3%.

Green Plains ( GPRE ) pledged the bulk of its ethanol plants as collateral to funds managed by BlackRock (BLK) as the biofuel maker seeks more time to repay its $128 million debt, Bloomberg reported. Green Plains ( GPRE ) shares climbed 5.4%.

Venture Global ( VG ) shares jumped past 12% after saying it won a legal battle against Shell (SHEL) related to liquefied natural gas sales from its Calcasieu project in Louisiana. Shell was up 0.1%.

Chevron Phillips Chemical, a 50-50 joint venture between Chevron ( CVX ) and Phillips 66 (PSX), has eliminated about 130 jobs in a bid to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency, Bloomberg reported. Chevron ( CVX ) shares rose 0.9% and Phillips 66 was up 1.7%.