Energy stocks were lower Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.6% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.7%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index rose 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 1%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 0.4% to $63.45 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was shedding 0.4% to $66.38 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3.7% to $3.51 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday maintained its global oil demand projections for 2025 and 2026, but reduced its world and US economic growth forecasts for this year.

Separately, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 4 million barrels in the week ended May 9 following a decrease of 1.5 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rebounded by 3.5 million barrels after a 2-million-barrel decrease in the previous week, compared with the 2.2-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, TotalEnergies (TTE) said it signed a deal for Norwegian investment firm, HitecVision, to buy 50% of Polska Grupa Biogazowa for an enterprise value of 190 million euros ($211.7 million). TotalEnergies shares were down 1.2%.

Oklo (OKLO) shares jumped 14%. The company's nuclear energy systems present a growing opportunity amid surging demand for computing power driven by the AI buildout, Wedbush said in a note. Oklo reported a Q1 net loss late Tuesday of $0.07 per diluted share, narrowing from the loss of $0.34 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of $0.11.

Woodside Energy (WDS) said late Tuesday it signed a nonbinding collaboration deal with Saudi Aramco to explore global opportunities, including Aramco potentially acquiring a stake in a liquified natural gas offtake from Woodside's Louisiana LNG project. Woodside shares added 0.5%.