Energy stocks advanced Tuesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 1.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was little changed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.9% to $63.77 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 2.7% to $66.69 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 0.4% to $3.63 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company will sign memoranda of understanding with NextDecade (NEXT) and Sempra (SRE) to supply around 6.2 million tons of liquid natural gas to Aramco, Reuters reported. NextDecade shares jumped 10%, and Sempra added 0.9%.

Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Phillips 66 (PSX) investors support the four board nominees backed by Elliott Investment Management. Phillips 66 said it "strongly" disagrees with the recommendation. Phillips 66 shares climbed 5.6%.

First Solar (FSLR) shares surged 20% after Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to outperform from peer perform with a $221 price target.

Aemetis (AMTX) said its biogas unit signed a $27 million agreement with Centuri (CTRI) to build biogas cleanup systems for 15 dairy digesters. Aemetis shares jumped 7% and Centuri rose 5.9%.