Highlights:
- The United States has allowed India to accept Russian oil that was already loaded on ships before March 5, 2026.
- The approval comes as a 30-day temporary waiver from the US Treasury Department.
- The move aims to stabilize global oil supplies during the conflict affecting energy routes near the Strait of Hormuz.
- The waiver applies only to Russian oil already stranded at sea before the sanction deadline.
- US officials say India may increase purchases of American oil in the future.
The United States has granted India temporary approval to receive Russian oil shipments that were already loaded onto vessels and currently floating at sea. The decision is designed to ease pressure on global oil supplies during the ongoing geopolitical tensions affecting energy routes in West Asia.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the move in an interview with Fox Business on Friday. According to him, the US Treasury Department agreed to allow India to accept Russian oil that had already been loaded onto ships and was moving through international waterways.
“The world is very well supplied in oil. Yesterday, the Treasury (Department) agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water,” Bessent said.
The waiver is a temporary measure intended to address short-term supply disruptions rather than signal a broader change in US sanctions policy toward Russia.
Why the US approved the Russian oil waiver
US officials said the decision to permit India to receive Russian oil shipments was made to prevent additional stress on global oil markets. Tensions affecting shipping routes near the Strait of Hormuz have raised concerns about supply disruptions and price volatility.
Bessent explained that India had earlier cooperated with US requests to reduce purchases of sanctioned Russian oil.
“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil,” he said.
According to the Treasury secretary, a large volume of Russian oil is currently stuck on ships due to sanctions and logistical constraints.
“There are hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of sanctioned crude on the water, and in essence, by unsanctioning them, Treasury can create supply. And we are looking at that. We are going to keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict.”
The temporary waiver allows some of those shipments to enter the market through Indian refineries
Russian oil shipments near Asia seen as immediate supply source
Energy Secretary Chris Wright also confirmed the decision, saying the US government introduced the waiver to help maintain stable oil supplies and limit price increases.
In a message posted on X, Wright said the US was allowing India to process Russian oil already located near Southern Asia.
“We have implemented short term measures to help keep oil prices down. We are allowing our friends in India to take oil that is already on ships, refine it, and move those barrels into the market quickly. A practical way to get supply flowing and ease pressure,” Wright said.
In a separate interview with ABC News Live, Wright said global oil markets remain well supplied in the long term, but immediate supply constraints require practical responses.
“But as oil gets bid up a little bit because of those constraints coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, we’re taking a short-term action to say all this floating Russian oil storage that’s around Southern Asia, it’s China just backed up, China does not treat their suppliers well, so there’s a bunch of floating barrels just sitting there.”
He added that bringing this Russian oil into Indian refineries could quickly increase available supply in the global market.
India encouraged to refine Russian oil and release supply
US officials have encouraged India to refine the incoming Russian oil and release the products into international markets as quickly as possible.
According to Wright, the approach could reduce competition among global refiners and help stabilize prices.
“We’ve reached out to our friends in India and said, ‘Buy that oil. Bring it into your refineries’. That pulls stored oil immediately into Indian refineries and releases the pressure on other refineries around the world to buy oil that they’re no longer competing with the Indians for in that marketplace,” Wright said.
The strategy is aimed at easing immediate supply constraints without expanding Russia’s overall oil sales.
