Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher in Afternoon Trading

01:47 PM EDT, 09/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were slightly higher Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index increasing 0.1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.4%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 1.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was rising 0.1%. In geopolitical news, Iranians and their Arab neighbors feared a return of war on Wednesday after the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July, with US forces striking Iran's southern coast and Iran firing at American bases across the region, Reuters reported. The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps said that two oil tankers exploded after hitting a mine and are now on fire, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.8% to $90.93 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1.2% to $95.78 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 2.1% to $2.96 per 1 million BTU. 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. The energy giant has entered into deals with Venezuela, setting up updated terms for its joint ventures in the country, including "enhanced" fiscal, commercial and legal terms, the company said Wednesday. Chevron shares rose 0.5%. Eni (E) wants to boost production from its operations in Venezuela to over 1 million barrels per day, including volume from state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, Bloomberg reported. Eni shares were easing 0.1%. 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 added 1.9%. Vertiv (VRT) has agreed to acquire microgrid firm Utility Innovation in a deal worth up to $2.6 billion, as part of the company's efforts to help data center operators accelerate power deployment amid rising grid constraints. Vertiv shares increased 0.3%.