The U.S. Treasury will prolong its sanctions waiver on Russian seaborne oil for another 30 days after the measure lapsed on Saturday, according to a report published on Monday. The renewal follows appeals from multiple countries seeking more time to obtain Russian oil after disruptions to Gulf supplies.
A source who provided details to the report declined to name the countries that requested the additional time. The requests were made after those buyers were cut off from supplies originating in the Gulf region as a result of the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the source said.
This is the second occasion on which the Treasury allowed the waiver to lapse prior to extending it. The waiver was originally put in place in March to help address shortages of oil and to temper price increases. It did so by permitting the release of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products that were being held in tankers.
Observers note that the waiver provided support to India, which had been among the largest purchasers of Russian oil prior to the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies aimed at pressuring Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
In market moves on Monday, Brent crude futures rose about 1.5% to roughly $111 a barrel, as lingering supply concerns outweighed the effect of the Russian waiver extension. In addition, an Iranian news agency reported that the U.S. was considering a temporary lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil as part of peace negotiation discussions.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was attending a Group of Seven finance leaders meeting in Paris, said he wanted G7 members and other allies to more strongly enforce sanctions on Iran.
Context limitations - The report did not identify the countries that sought the extension, and provided no further operational details on how the extended waiver will be administered.