01:46 PM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks gained Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 1.5%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index advanced 1.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was up 0.5%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.7% to $75.77 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent advanced 1.5% to $79.80 a barrel.

US natural gas stocks rose 35 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, matching both the previous week and expectations in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 1.8% to $2.13 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, ONEOK ( OKE ) said late Wednesday it agreed to buy Global Infrastructure Partners' interest in EnLink Midstream ( ENLC ) and GIP's equity interests in Medallion Midstream for a combined 5.9 billion to expand in the Mid-Continent region, north Texas and Louisiana. ONEOK ( OKE ) shares rose 2.6%, and EnLink jumped 8.6%.

Shell (SHEL) is planning to cut its oil and gas exploration and development team by 20% as part of Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan's cost-saving efforts, Reuters reported. Shell shares rose 0.6%.

Marathon Oil ( MRO ) shareholders approved the company's pending acquisition by ConocoPhillips ( COP ) . Marathon shares rose 2%, and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) gained 1.8%.