04:03 PM EST, 11/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined Monday with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropping 1.9%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index slumped 2.3%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.9%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 0.5% to $59.81 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent shed 0.5% to $64.10 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures tumbled 5.2% to $4.33 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, ExxonMobil ( XOM ) and BASF signed a joint development agreement to accelerate methane pyrolysis, with a plan to build a demonstration plant in Baytown, Texas, to support commercial readiness. Exxon shares fell 1.3%.

Chevron ( CVX ) is exploring the purchase of some global assets from the sanctioned Russian oil company Lukoil, Reuters reported. Chevron ( CVX ) shares dropped 1.8%.

Murphy Oil's ( MUR ) exploration and production subsidiary signed a multiyear deal to migrate its exploration and subsurface workflows to GeoComputing's RiVA private cloud platform. Murphy shares fell 2.2%.