Energy stocks rose late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index gaining 2.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index fell 0.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index shed 1.3%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 6.3% to $84.28 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent surged 7.4% to $90.32 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.4% to $2.73 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) and Phillips 66 (PSX) are exploring a sale of their combined stakes in the Explorer refined products pipeline in a deal that may value the asset at $3.5 billion, Reuters reported. Shell shares rose 2.4%, and Phillips 66 added 0.6%.