Energy stocks rose late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index climbing up 0.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) gaining 0.9%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index jumped 2.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index advanced 0.1%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.7% to $90.81 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent gained 0.9% to $95.45 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 2.8% to $2.99 per 1 million BTU.
In geopolitical news, additional US strikes on Iran Tuesday led to Tehran attacking Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait. "They will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!" Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday.
The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps said two oil tankers exploded after hitting a mine and are now on fire, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported Wednesday.
In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 7.6 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 28 following a decrease of 3.6 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks declined by 4.5 million barrels after a 100,000-barrel gain in the previous week, compared to the 60,000-barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) outlined a plan to invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela and double its oil production capacity in the South American country over the next five years. Shares rose 0.6%.
GE Vernova (GEV) has agreed to restore large sections of Venezuela's electrical network under a US government initiative to boost the nation's energy generation, Bloomberg reported. GE Vernova shares gained 3%.
Venture Global (VG) told customers of its Plaquemines Phase 2 LNG export plant in Louisiana that deliveries remain on schedule at previously agreed prices, Reuters reported. Venture Global shares fell 2.2%.
Calumet (CLMT) said Wednesday that the US Environmental Protection Agency granted full small refinery exemptions for two of its petitions covering the 2025 compliance year. The company said the exemptions will reduce its balance-sheet liability by 71 million renewable identification numbers, valued at about $170 million as of last June. Calumet shares rose 3%.