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Geopolitics

U.S. Temporarily Lifts Russian Oil Restrictions

by Rethabile Ramafoko
written by Rethabile Ramafoko

JOHANNESBURG, Mar 16 – The United States Treasury Department has issued a 30-day sanctions waiver permitting countries worldwide to purchase Russian crude oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, A policy shift driven by a global energy crisis stemming from the ongoing U.S.-Israel war with Iran

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the move describing it as a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” that applies only to oil already in transit and would “not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”

The move is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to tame energy prices after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent response widened regional tensions and paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting vital Middle East oil and gas flows and sending energy prices sharply higher

124 million barrels of Russian oil are currently at sea globally
The waiver was first extended to India. The U.S. Treasury previously issued a 30-day waiver on March 5th specifically for India, allowing New Delhi to buy Russian oil stuck at sea
Thursday’s announcement broadened that relief to all countries

According to Secretary Bessent’s statement shared on X, the step aims to “increase the global reach of existing supply” while addressing instability caused by the Iran war. Secretary Bessent stressed that the authorisation “will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction.”

Bessent added that it was “unfortunate” that Russia would benefit financially from this move, “but we hope that it will be for a micro period.”
The announcement arrived amid notable diplomatic activity. A day before the Treasury rolled out the sanctions licence, Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met in Florida with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, both sides said. Dmitriev said the group discussed the “current crisis on global energy markets”