With fundamentals largely remaining the same as they were last week, oil prices nevertheless are poised to post sizable gains, with global benchmark Brent trading above $72 per barrel and WTI climbing to just south of $69 per barrel. The blaze at the Ku-Maloob-Zaap offshore platform in Mexico started it off, taking some 400,000 b/d of crude out of the market for the time being, and the forced evacuation of staff from production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Ida finished off the supply disruption, overpowering COVID concerns and the weakness of the physical market. Congo Seeks to Review Chinese Metal Deals. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is reviewing its 6 billion infrastructure-for-metals deals, based on concerns that they are not “sufficiently benefiting Congo” as China controls 70% of DRC’s mining sector. Phillips 66 Puts Louisiana Refinery for Sale. US refiner […]