Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.6% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) rising 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was fractionally higher, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 1.4%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.7% to $77.51 a barrel, while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was down 1.3% to $79.95 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 1.3% to $3.98 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Uni-Fuels (UFG) shares were up 0.5% in recent trading after the company's stock marked its Nasdaq debut at higher than the $4-per-share IPO price.

Talen Energy (TLN) shares popped 3.7%. The company said late Monday that its Talen Energy Supply unit received the required consent from holders of its 8.625% notes due 2030 to adopt amendments to the indenture governing the notes.

Calumet (CLMT) shares fell 13%. The company expects to report a net loss ranging from $54 million to $24 million in Q4. Analysts polled by FactSet expect a net loss of $52.2 million.

BP (BP) shares were down 0.3% after the company said it expects "weaker" realized refining margins in Q4 to be between $100 million and $300 million and a higher "impact" from turnaround activity.