** S&P 500 energy index .SPNY rises 2%, tracking higher crude prices O/R

** Brent crude LCOc1 up 1.1% at $68.40/barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate $(WTI)$ crude futures CLc1 up 1.2% at $64.16/barrel

** Oil prices rise as an industry report showed U.S. crude inventories declining last week, adding to a sense in the market of tightening supplies amid export issues in Kurdistan and Venezuela and disruptions to Russian supplies

** Top oil and gas majors Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Chevron CVX.N rise 1% and 1.2%, respectively

** Halliburton HAL.N, Williams Companies WMB.N, Devon Energy DVN.N and EQT Corp EQT.N gain between 1.6% and 2%, among top pct gainers on the energy index

** Refiners Phillips 66 PSX.N and Valero Energy VLO.N each up 1%

** Oilfield services companies SLB SLB.N and Baker Hughes BKR.O both up 1%

(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru)

((Dharna.bafna@thomsonreuters.com))