01:45 PM EDT, 05/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index adding 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 1.2% gain, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was rising 0.3%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 0.3% to $78.33 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 0.3% to $83.21 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 4.7% to $2.24 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Atlas Energy Solutions ( AESI ) shares climbed over 3%. The company reported lower-than-expected Q1 results while raising its dividend to $0.22 per share.

Shell (SHEL) is in talks to sell its gas station business in Malaysia to Saudi Aramco in a deal that could be worth up to $1 billion, Reuters reported. Separately, Shell has decided to divest its majority stake in downstream assets in South Africa, media outlets reported. Shell was adding 0.5%.

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) Chief Executive Darren Woods said he sees arbitration with Chevron ( CVX ) over a Guyanese asset lasting into 2025. The companies still need to appoint a third arbitrator before they go into the discovery phase, Woods told CNBC in an interview. Exxon and Chevron ( CVX ) were each rising about 1.2%.