The US has given India permission to purchase Russian oil that is currently on ships in waterways, aiming to ease supply shortages globally amid the West Asia conflict.
"The world has ample oil supplies. Yesterday, the Treasury Department authorized our allies in India to begin buying Russian oil that was already on the water," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in an interview with Fox Business on Friday.
"The Indian companies have been very responsible. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil in the fall, and they did. They intended to replace it with US oil. However, to address the temporary oil shortage, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may lift the sanctions on other Russian oil," he added.
Bessent further stated that there are hundreds of millions of barrels of sanctioned crude oil on the water, and "by lifting the sanctions, the Treasury can create supply. We are looking at this. We will continue to implement measures to ease market pressure during this conflict."
Several other officials from the Trump administration have also indicated that the US has now allowed India to buy Russian oil, following President Donald Trump's imposition of 25% tariffs on Delhi for its purchases of oil from Moscow.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated in a post on X on Friday that the United States is "allowing our friends in India" to take the Russian oil already on ships in Southern Asia, refine it, and quickly move the stocks into the market to ensure a continuous supply and ease pressure amid the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.
"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 quickly move those barrels into the market. This is a practical way to ensure a continuous supply and ease pressure," Wright said.
In an interview with ABC News Live, Wright said that long-term oil supplies are "abundant" and there are no concerns regarding this. However, in the short term, there is a need to get oil into the market.
"But as oil prices rise slightly due to these constraints from the Strait of Hormuz, we are taking short-term action to allow the floating Russian oil storage in Southern Asia, which China is facing challenges with, China doesn't treat its suppliers well, so there are a lot of barrels just sitting there," he said.
"We have reached out to our friends in India and said, 'Buy that oil. Bring it into your refineries.' This will immediately pull the stored oil into Indian refineries and ease the pressure on other refineries around the world to buy oil that they are no longer competing with the Indians for in that market," Wright added.
"So, we have a number of measures like this that are short-term and temporary. This is no change in policy towards Russia. This is a very brief policy change just to keep oil prices a little bit lower than they could otherwise," he concluded.
On Thursday, amid the escalating conflict with Iran, the US announced a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.
"President Trump's energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to continue flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil," Bessent had said.
He stated that this "deliberately short-term measure" will not provide significant financial benefits to the Russian government, as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.
"India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will increase its purchases of US oil. This temporary measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran's attempt to control global energy," Bessent said.
Trump had imposed the 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, with the administration asserting that Delhi's purchases were helping fuel Russia's war against Ukraine.
Last month, the US and India announced that they had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on trade, and Trump had issued an Executive Order removing the 25% tariffs on India, noting New Delhi's commitment to stop directly or indirectly importing energy from Moscow and purchasing American energy products.
A statement from the Department of Treasury titled ‘Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Russian Federation Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 5, 2026 to India’ said that "all transactions prohibited… that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Russian Federation origin loaded on any vessel, including vessels blocked under the above listed authorities, on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time, March 5, 2026 are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 4, 2026, provided that the delivery or offloading of such crude oil or petroleum products occurs at a port" in India and the purchaser of such crude oil or petroleum products is an entity organized under the laws of India.
The general license issued by the Treasury Department said it does not authorize any other transactions or activities prohibited by any other Executive order, including any transaction or activity involving Iran, the Government of Iran, or Iranian-origin goods or services that is prohibited by the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.
