Energy stocks were declining Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index fractionally down and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) shedding 0.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index fell 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.5%.

Oil prices were slightly higher on Friday as Israeli strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels triggered what one strategist described as a "fear bid" for the commodity, MarketWatch reported Friday.

Separately, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 4.0 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 20 following a decrease of 400,000 barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 4.2 million barrels after a 900,000 barrel drop in the previous week, a larger drop than the 600,000 barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 1.4% to $70.59 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 1.2% to $74.13 a barrel.

US natural gas stocks fell by 93 billion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 20, compared with the 100 billion decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a decrease of 125 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3.4% to $3.59 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Battalion Oil (BATL) shares jumped past 19%. The company said Friday that its Halcon unit has refinanced all of its senior secured credit agreements with lenders, who are providing Halcon with $162 million in borrowing capacity through a new term loan maturing in December 2028.

Shell (SHEL) said it shut down one of the oil processing units at its energy and chemicals park at Pulau Bukom, Singapore, to investigate a suspected leak detected Thursday. Shell shares were rising 0.6%.

Martin Midstream Partners (MMLP) will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity after the company said Thursday it was mutually terminating its proposed merger with general partner Martin Resource Management. Martin Midstream shares tumbled past 7%.