The United States has extended a temporary waiver permitting countries to continue purchasing Russian crude oil and petroleum products transported at sea for roughly another month, according to official sources.
The decision comes as the Trump administration seeks to stabilise global energy markets, which have faced disruption due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the conflict involving Iran.
A notice issued by the US Treasury Department said the extended waiver allows transactions involving Russian oil loaded onto vessels as of Friday to proceed until 16 May. The previous waiver had been scheduled to expire on 11 April.
The arrangement effectively allows certain shipments of Russian oil already in transit to reach buyers, even as broader sanctions remain in place. The move is seen as an effort to prevent sudden shocks in global oil supply chains.
Reports by Al Jazeera noted that the extension has sparked mixed reactions internationally.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev previously stated that the initial waiver could release nearly 100 million barrels of crude into the global market, an amount close to one day of global oil production.
However, the decision has drawn criticism in parts of Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other officials argued that such exemptions could weaken sanctions designed to restrict Russia’s revenue sources, which are being used to finance the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Despite the criticism, US officials maintain that the extension is intended to avoid sudden disruptions in global supply while maintaining broader sanction pressure on Moscow.
