03:45 PM EDT, 05/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks fell late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 0.4% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) decreasing 0.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index eased 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.9% to $79.35 a barrel, while the global benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.8% to $83.42 a barrel.

US natural gas stocks rose by 70 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 10, a smaller gain than the 77 billion increase expected in a Bloomberg survey and following an increase of 79 billion in the previous week. Stocks at 2.633 trillion were 19% higher a year earlier and 30.8% above the five-year average.

Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 3.2% to $2.494 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Waste Management (WM) is considering the sale of its renewable natural gas unit that may be worth $3 billion, Reuters reported. The stock rose 1.r%.

Seadrill ( SDRL ) agreed to sell its three jack-up rigs in Qatar and its 50% stake in a joint venture that operates the rigs to its JV partner Gulf Drilling International for $338 million in cash. Separately, Seadrill ( SDRL ) late Tuesday reported Q1 earnings of $0.81 per diluted share, down from $0.83 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $0.67. The stock gained 3%.

Crescent Energy ( CRGY ) agreed to buy rival SilverBow Resources ( SBOW ) for $2.1 billion. SilverBow shares surged 13% and Crescent fell 5.8%.

Chevron ( CVX ) confirmed it plans to sell its remaining UK North Sea oil and gas assets. The stock fell 0.3%.