Energy stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 3.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index advanced 1.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index decreased 0.3%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 3.6% to $91.44 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract climbed 4.1% to $104.30 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 1.5% to $3.15 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Petrobras (PBR) shares rose 3.2% after it said Thursday it has acquired the Azurita block in the Campos Basin and the Cruzeiro Sul block in the Santos Basin in a public bidding round promoted by Brazil's National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels for a signature bonus of 232.4 million Brazilian reais ($46.4 million).