04:00 PM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks gained late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) rising 1.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index advanced 1.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 0.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.9% to $75.92 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent advanced 1.6% to $79.93 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.1% to $2.14 per 1 million BTU.

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.

In corporate news, GE Vernova ( GEV ) shares jumped 4% after the company said it was selected by French utility company Reseau de Transport d'Electricite to build an electric substation to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by up to 99%.

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%.

ONEOK ( OKE ) said late Wednesday it struck a deal to acquire Medallion and controlling interest in EnLink (ENLC) from Global Infrastructure Partners in a deal valued at $5.9 billion. ONEOK ( OKE ) shares rose 2.5%, and EnLink jumped 9.1%.

Marathon Oil ( MRO ) shareholders approved the company's pending acquisition by ConocoPhillips ( COP ) . Marathon shares rose 2.4%, and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) added 2.1%.