-- Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.4% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) climbing 1.8%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was increasing 0.2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was shedding 0.2%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 3.7% to $99.90 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract rose 2.7% to $111.17 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures increased 0.4% to $2.56 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) signed a memorandum of understanding with Libya's National Oil Corporation, or NOC, to conduct a joint study evaluating the potential of unconventional shale oil and gas resources in sedimentary basins across the country, NOC said Tuesday. Chevron shares climbed 1.8%.