03:57 PM EDT, 06/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks advanced late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index adding 0.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index shed 0.4%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index climbed 1.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was fractionally lower at $68.13 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent shed 0.3% to $69.54 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.6% to $3.53 per 1 million BTU.

US natural gas stocks rose by 109 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, above the 108 billion rise expected in a Bloomberg survey and following a gain of 122 billion in the previous week.

In corporate news, Shell (SHEL), Saudi Aramco, and Azerbaijan's Socar have signed LNG supply agreements with state-run Egyptian Natural Gas, media reports said. Shell added 0.6%.

Venture Global ( VG ) shares shed 0.8% after UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.

NexGen Energy ( NXE ) shares added 0.7% after Saskatchewan's Ministry of Environment approved the company's 2025 site program at the Rook I Property in the Athabasca Basin.

TotalEnergies (TTE) is collaborating with French firm Mistral AI to set up an innovation lab focused on artificial intelligence to back the oil giant's multi-energy strategy, particularly in low-carbon energy. TotalEnergies shares rose 1.4%.