Us Crude Imports Hit 4-Year Low On Weak Refinery Demand

Energy stocks were lower late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index down 0.3% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) falling 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index shed 0.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index declined 0.7%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.7% to $66.39 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent dropped 2.3% to $69.38 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.1% to $4.44 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Expro shares rose 1.8% after the company won more than $10 million contracts from OMV Petrom for the Neptun Deep gas project in the Black Sea.

BP's strategic review of its Castrol unit has received attention from Saudi Aramco, which is weighing a potential offer for the lubricant assets, Bloomberg reported. BP added 1.6%.

Phillips 66 said it's ready to engage "constructively" and find a "path forward" with activist fund Elliott Investment Management, even though the fund "showed no genuine interest in engagement." Phillips 66 shares were falling 2%.

Ecopetrol shares rose 2.4% after it reported lower Q4 net income and revenue that still topped analysts' expectations.

Energy stocks were in the red Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropping 2.7%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index shed 1.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was down 1.2%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 28 following a decrease of 2.3 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 3.6 million barrels after a 2.3 million barrel decrease in the previous week, a larger gain than the 800,000 barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was falling 3.1% to $66.16 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was dropping 2.6% to $69.21 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.3% to $4.45 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, BP's strategic review of its Castrol unit has received attention from Saudi Aramco, which is weighing a potential offer for the lubricant assets, Bloomberg reported. BP shares were up 0.9%.

Phillips 66 said Wednesday it's ready to engage constructively and find a "path forward" with activist fund Elliott Investment Management, even though the fund "showed no genuine interest in engagement." Phillips 66 shares were falling 3.6%.

Ecopetrol shares rose 1.5% after it reported lower Q4 net income and revenue that still topped analysts' expectations.

Phillips 66 said Wednesday it is ready to engage constructively and find a "path forward" with activist fund Elliott Investment Management, even though the fund "showed no genuine interest in engagement."

The energy company confirmed that Elliott nominated seven directors for election at its 2025 annual meeting. In a letter to shareholders, Phillips said its team met with Elliott on Monday to find a "constructive path forward" and offered to interview the fund's director nominees. The meeting ended with Elliott stating that there were no immediate next steps.

On Tuesday, Elliott announced its slate of nominees and filed a preliminary proxy statement, according to the letter.

Phillips said its board will present its recommendation regarding the director nominations in a definitive proxy statement. The company also said that it intends to propose to declassify the board, or to have all directors up for election every year.

In a Tuesday statement from Elliott, the fund said it identified three initiatives for the company to "realize its potential and reverse its persistent underperformance versus peers." The three initiatives are portfolio simplification, an operating review, and enhanced oversight, the fund said.

Elliott did not immediately reply to request for comment from MT Newswires.

PSX shares were down 3.6% in recent trading.

Phillips 66 has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $139.29, according to analysts polled by FactSet.