04:06 PM EDT, 08/14/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks rose Friday with the NYSE Energy Sector Index gaining 1.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 2.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index advanced 0.3%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.4% to $82.41 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 1.7% to $88.53 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures eased 0.3% to $2.72 per 1 million BTU.

Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more ships were attacked at the chokepoint, Reuters reported. Abu Dhabi's national oil company said its vessels were attacked Thursday evening, and that the government of the United Arab Emirates blamed Iran, which made no immediate comment, the report said.

In corporate news, Energy Transfer's ( ET ) Green Chile Project pipeline, a New Mexico natural gas project that would supply power-generation systems for a planned Oracle (ORCL) data center, has been delayed and is now expected to enter service next year, Bloomberg reported. Energy Transfer ( ET ) shares rose 1.4%.

Phillips 66 (PSX) and Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) held discussions earlier this year over a potential combination that would have created a company valued at $180 billion, Semafor reported. Phillips 66 shares rose 0.4%, and Marathon fell 0.3%.

Shell (SHEL) lost a legal battle with environmental activists over an oil exploration campaign off South Africa's Wild Coast, Bloomberg reported. Shell shares rose 1.5%.

Diversified Energy ( DEC ) is in preliminary talks to acquire Birch Resources, which operates in the Permian Basin, Reuters reported. Diversified Energy ( DEC ) shares rose 1.1%.