The US has temporarily eased sanctions on Russian oil in transit, risking the ire of Nato allies, in a bid to cool surging crude prices amid the Iran war.
04:57, Fri, Mar 13, 2026 Updated: 04:57, Fri, Mar 13, 2026
A foreign tanker carrying Iraqi fuel oil damaged after catching fire in Iraq's territorial waters (Image: Reuters)
The US Treasury has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil already at sea in a bid to ease crude prices surging amid the Iran war. The exemptions, issued on Thursday evening, are set to remain in place until April 11.
The move is expected to add hundreds of millions of barrels of crude to global markets, helping to cool prices that have hovered near $100 a barrel as a result of the conflict.
In a shift that will cause considerable alarm to Nato allies and extreme concern to Ukraine's President Zelensky who will be wary of Russian oil profits being used to finance Putin's war machine, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that Moscow could benefit financially from the decision.
"To increase the global reach of existing supply, Treasury is providing a temporary authorisation to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea," Mr Bessent wrote on social media.
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Millions of barrels of Russian oil to hit market as US lifts sanctions
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and 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."
The US sanctioned major Russian oil firms last year to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
According to commodities data tracking service Kpler, about 130 million barrels of Russian oil is currently at sea.
As one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, Russia stands to gain from the price spike triggered by the Iran war.
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