02:00 PM EDT, 09/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks advanced Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.7% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 0.9%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 2.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index eased 0.3%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 0.6% to $63.56 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent dropped 0.8% at $67.06 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.7% to $3.08 per 1 million BTU.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 29 following a decrease of 1.6 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 2.4 million barrels after a 2.4-million-barrel drop in the previous week, compared with a 1.9-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) is exploring a potential sale of chemical plants in the UK and Belgium as the sector struggles from US tariffs and increased competition from China, the Financial Times reported. Exxon shares gained 0.9%.

Shell (SHEL) is considering a sale of its 16.67% stake in the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas export plant in Australia that may be worth over $3 billion, Bloomberg reported. Shell shares fell 0.2%.

Par Pacific ( PARR ) shares decreased 0.4% after a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that Chief Financial Officer Shawn David Flores on Sept. 2 sold 8,062 shares in the company for $278,139.