US temporarily eases Russia oil sanctions to allow sales to India

The United States has temporarily eased Russian oil sanctions to allow the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil currently stranded at sea to India, a move aimed at maintaining stability in global energy markets.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a special licence authorising transactions involving Russian crude oil and petroleum products that were already loaded on vessels by March 5, 2026. According to the Treasury, the waiver permits the delivery and sale of these cargoes to India until April 3, 2026.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the temporary measure was designed to prevent disruption in global oil supply chains.

“To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market,” Bessent said in a statement, adding that the waiver is strictly limited in scope and duration.

He emphasised that the authorisation only applies to oil cargoes already stranded at sea and would not provide significant financial benefits to the Russian government.

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote on social media platform X.

The US administration said the decision was also intended to ease pressure on global energy markets at a time of heightened geopolitical tension. Bessent noted that the waiver could help stabilise supply conditions amid disruptions linked to Iran’s actions affecting global energy routes.

Despite the waiver, India has indicated that it plans to gradually halt purchases of Russian oil under a broader trade agreement with the United States.

The temporary sanctions relief follows tougher measures introduced by Donald Trump in November against Russia’s energy sector. The US president imposed sanctions on major Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft in response to Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Those sanctions were among the strongest steps taken by Washington against Russia’s oil industry and forced several major buyers of Russian crude to seek alternative suppliers.

Analysts say Russia has attempted to bypass sanctions by assembling a fleet of ageing oil tankers with opaque ownership structures to transport crude outside Western monitoring systems.

The short-term waiver underscores Washington’s attempt to balance geopolitical pressure on Moscow with the need to maintain stability in global oil supply and prevent sudden shocks in international energy markets.