01:50 PM EDT, 06/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) shedding 0.9%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index fell 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was down 0.7%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.4% to $76.38 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 0.3% to $79.18 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 2.9% to $3.15 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, the US, Iran and mediators are in talks over holding the signing of the memorandum of understanding remotely as early as Wednesday, instead of in-person on Friday, Axios reported. A diplomat from one of the mediating countries told Axios that discussions to speed up the deal are intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz sooner, since the parties agreed that the strait's opening and the lifting of the US blockade would only take effect after the formal signing scheduled for Friday.

Separately, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 17.2 million barrels in the week ended June 12 following a decrease of 15.2 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 8.3 million barrels after a 7.2-million-barrel decline in the previous week, a larger drop than the 3-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) has a preliminary deal to supply liquefied natural gas to South Africa, Bloomberg reported. Exxon shares were down 0.7%.

Western Midstream Partners ( WES ) said the second produced-water treatment pilot facility in its joint industry project has begun operations in Reeves County, Texas, in the Permian Basin. Its shares declined 0.7%.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) confirmed that it has signed a development agreement with Syria's new government, after an earlier Financial Times report said the company was poised to become the first major US oil and gas producer to do so. ConocoPhillips ( COP ) shares were shedding 0.4%.