Energy stocks were slightly higher late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) each increasing 0.2%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was adding 1.2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 0.6%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.7% to $71.56 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract decreased 0.2% to $76.12 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures dropped 2.3% to $2.94 per 1 million BTU.
In sector news, the International Energy Agency on Friday projected a smaller decline in global oil demand in 2026 amid signs of a rebound in consumption as crude flows improve. The agency now expects oil consumption to fall by 1 million barrels per day this year, compared with a 1.1 million-barrel drop forecast in June. That would mark the first annual contraction since 2020, CNBC reported.
In corporate news, Sempra (SRE) said Thursday it appointed Justin Bird as chief financial officer and Karen Sedgwick as president and chief executive of Southern California Gas. The appointments will take effect when the company's planned sale of a 45% stake in Sempra Infrastructure to KKR (KKR) affiliates closes. Sempra expects the deal to close in Q3. Sempra shares were down 0.5%.
BHP (BHP) is mulling the sale of a desalination plant in Chile, along with its electricity transmission assets, as it focuses on its core copper business, Bloomberg reported. The electricity transmission assets are expected to fetch about $1 billion to $1.3 billion, while the desalination plant could raise about $500 million to $700 million, the report said. BHP shares were up 2.4%.
South Bow's (SOBO) subsidiaries South Bow USA and South Bow Infrastructure Operations have agreed to pay more than $26 million to settle allegations that the 2022 Keystone Pipeline rupture in Kansas violated the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice and the State of Kansas said Friday. South Bow shares were down 0.8%.
Plains All American Pipeline's (PAA) Q2 results are likely to be pressured by the company's recent sale of its Canadian natural gas liquids business, UBS Securities said Thursday in a report. Plains All American shares were fractionally higher.