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Sector Update: Energy Stocks Mixed Late Afternoon

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Energy stocks were mixed late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.2% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) fractionally lower.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was rising 3.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was down 0.8%.

In the Middle East, about 6 million to 8 million barrels a day of crude oil are now being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported, citing estimates from traders monitoring cargo activity. Flows slipped in July, when an onslaught of Iran's attacks on supertankers led to the breakdown of an interim ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran and heightened risks to navigation, the news report said, adding that flows remain at roughly half prewar levels.

Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Iran and Qatar discussed an agreement to implement a "joint project" to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz as well as "efforts to reduce escalation and create appropriate conditions for dialogue," according to a report from Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.1% to $83.93 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 2.6% to $90.11 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 2.3% to $2.91 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US natural gas stocks rose by 15 billion cubic feet in the week ended Aug. 21, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 16 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) ended talks with Unimot months ago over offloading its stake in Germany's Russia-linked Schwedt refinery, Bloomberg reported. The refinery, majority-owned by Russian oil firm Rosneft, has been stuck in an ownership deadlock since 2022, the report said. Shell shares were down 0.3%.

BP (BP) is in exclusive talks with Energean to sell some of its upstream oil and gas assets in Egypt, Reuters reported. BP shares were down 0.3%.

Enbridge (ENB) has entered into a definitive agreement with KKR (KKR) to form a joint venture that will invest about $2.7 billion Canadian dollars ($1.94 billion) to fund the expansion of the Aspen Point and Sunrise programs on the Westcoast natural gas pipeline system, the company said Thursday. Enbridge shares declined 0.9%.

Canadian Solar (CSIQ) has hired Guggenheim Securities to help it evaluate strategic options for its Recurrent Energy unit, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Canadian Solar shares were down 0.8%.

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