{"id":1560,"date":"2026-05-18T17:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1560"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:40:54","slug":"us-extends-russian-oil-waiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1560","title":{"rendered":"US extends Russian oil waiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reprieve that was to run only until May 16 has been prolonged to \u201cstabilize\u201d the crude market, the Treasury has said<\/strong><\/p>\n

The US has once again extended a sanctions waiver that allows Russian crude and petroleum products already loaded onto tankers to be delivered and sold, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The latest exemption, which had lapsed on Saturday, follows an earlier 30\u2011day waiver that expired on April 11, and gives buyers another 30 days to complete shipments of Russian seaborne oil without breaching US restrictions. The move reportedly came after several countries requested more time to take delivery of cargoes. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Bessent wrote on X on Monday the new 30\u2011day general license is intended to let \u201cthe most vulnerable nations\u201d<\/em> temporarily access Russian oil \u201ccurrently stranded at sea.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The extension will provide \u201cadditional flexibility,\u201d<\/em> help \u201cstabilize the physical crude market\u201d<\/em> and curb China\u2019s ability to \u201cstockpile discounted barrels,\u201d<\/em> he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Washington introduced the waiver earlier this year in a bid to ease supply shortages and limit price spikes triggered by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the US\u2011Israeli campaign against Iran. The key waterway handles around 20% of global seaborne crude exports, and its disruption has rattled energy markets. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

.@USTreasury<\/a> is issuing a temporary 30-day general license to provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea. <\/p>\n

This extension will provide additional flexibility, and we will work with these nations to provide\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, the measure has so far done little to calm US gasoline prices, which remain elevated despite efforts by the Treasury and other agencies to prevent a deeper shock, according to Reuters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bessent has previously defended the decision to extend sanctions relief, telling US lawmakers in April the waiver had allowed Treasury to put \u201cmore than 250 million barrels on the water\u201d<\/em> and ease fears over supply.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"US
US defends Russia oil sanctions waiver extension<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The US and allies have imposed sanctions and price\u2011cap measures on Russian oil exports since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, seeking to squeeze Moscow\u2019s revenues. The limited US waiver only applies to cargoes that were already at sea when the latest restrictions came into force, and does not authorize new purchases outside the existing sanctions framework.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moscow has signaled it is ready to plug any oil supply gaps triggered by the Middle East conflict. Some Asian countries have already moved to secure Russian crude since Washington first eased the restrictions. \u00a0<\/p>\n

EU officials have criticized Washington\u2019s decision to waive sanctions on Russian oil, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying it is \u201cnot the time to relax sanctions against Russia.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency has warnead that the world is facing \u201cthe largest energy crisis\u201d<\/em> as a result of the Iran war and that Europe could be particularly hard hit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reprieve that was to run only until May 16 has been prolonged to \u201cstabilize\u201d the crude market,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}