Energy stocks were lower Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) shedding 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was down 0.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index added 0.1%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.3% to $82.17 a barrel, and the global benchmark while the Brent crude contract dropped 3.8% to $88.70 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures shed 0.7% to $2.76 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) shares were down 0.6%. The company put its Aphrodite offshore gas project in Trinidad and Tobago on hold following commercial disagreements with the country's National Gas Co., Reuters reported.