Energy stocks were higher Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was increasing 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.9%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was fractionally lower at $108.62 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was dropping 1.1% to $110.83 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.5% to $3.10 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, NATO is considering helping ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz if it doesn't get unblocked by early July, Bloomberg reported, citing a senior official in the military alliance.

In corporate news, Cenovus Energy's (CVE) addition of MEG Energy's Christina Lake asset to its portfolio late last year has created a huge in-situ oil sands complex which should yield synergistic development opportunities for decades to come, RBC Capital Markets said in a note. Cenovus shares rose 0.2%.