01:44 PM EDT, 04/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 0.9% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 1.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 1.4% drop, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was down 1.2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was decreasing 0.2% to $85.25 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent was down 0.2% to $89.92 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 2.1% lower at $1.66 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, SilverBow Resources ( SBOW ) shares tumbled 5.7% after Kimmeridge Energy Management said it has withdrawn its proposal to combine SilverBow with its natural-gas unit.

BP (BP) said Tuesday that oil production started at the new Azeri Central East platform in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field development in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. Its shares were falling 1.2%.

Chevron's ( CVX ) Chevron Technology Ventures arm has launched a $500 million fund to invest in clean energy technologies, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Chevron ( CVX ) shares were down 1%.