03:56 PM EDT, 08/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 1.1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) rising 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index climbed 2.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was up 0.2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.1% to $63.94 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1% to $67.86 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 5.5% to $2.87 per 1 million BTU.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 22 following a decrease of 5.8 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 2.4 million barrels after a 6-million-barrel decline in the previous week, a larger drop than the 2-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) has engaged in private talks with Russian state oil company Rosneft about restarting operations at the Sakhalin project, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Exxon shares were rising 1.3%.

Essential Utilities ( WTRG ) shares rose 2% after the firm said it has agreed with International Electric Power to invest $26 million in a data center facility in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

EQT (EQT) is in talks to secure liquefied natural gas supply from NextDecade's ( NEXT ) Rio Grande export terminal, which is under construction in Brownsville, Texas, Bloomberg reported. NextDecade ( NEXT ) shares gained 3.3%, and EQT was falling 2.2%.

Sempra ( SRE ) shares added 0.6% after the company said its Sempra Infrastructure unit signed a 20-year deal with EQT to supply 2 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas offtake from the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 development project in Jefferson County, Texas.