03:31 PM EST, 12/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were in the red late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) each dropping 1.4%

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index slumped 2.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index fell 1.2%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 400,000 barrels in the week ended Dec. 13 following a decrease of 700,000 barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 900,000 barrels after a 1.4-million-barrel drop in the previous week, against the 1.7-million-barrel decrease expected in a Bloomberg survey.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.2% at $70.22 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was down 0.2% at $73.02 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures spiked 3.6% to $3.43 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Oklo ( OKLO ) said it signed a non-binding master power agreement with Switch to develop, build and operate 12 gigawatts of Aurora powerhouse projects through 2044. Oklo ( OKLO ) shares were down 2%.

BW LPG ( BWLP ) shares rose 0.1%. BW said Avance Gas now owns nearly 11% of its shares following the issuance of about 1.4 million shares for taking delivery of BW Monsoon liquefied petroleum gas vessel from Avance.

Riley Exploration Permian ( REPX ) said it has amended its senior secured revolving credit facility, extending the maturity to December 2028 from April 2026. Its shares were falling 5.6%.

Shell's (SHEL) BG International unit targets to submit a drilling plan to Suriname's environmental agency for up to four exploration wells at offshore Block 65, Reuters reported Tuesday. Shell was down 1.3%.