Mar 13, 2026, 7:58 amMar 13, 2026, 7:58 am
In view of the sharp rise in oil prices, the USA is allowing countries to temporarily purchase Russian oil that is currently being transported by ship.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.Image: keystone
In order to improve supply on the global market, countries are temporarily allowed to buy Russian oil that is already on ships, as Finance Minister Scott Bessent announced on the X platform. The temporary exemption from US sanctions should apply until April 11th.
.@POTUS is taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to keep prices low as we address the threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime.
To increase the global reach of existing supply, @USTreasury is providing a temporary…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) March 12, 2026
Russia, which has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than four years, should be able to increase its revenue from crude oil sales, at least in the short term. However, Bessent argued that Russia would not benefit significantly financially from this “narrow” exemption.
The US has had sanctions affecting the Russian oil sector for years. This is one of the reasons why Moscow often relies on sanctioned ships that belong to the so-called shadow fleet for exports on the high seas. Countries and companies that do business with them could normally themselves be at risk of becoming the target of sanctions.
The global energy markets are very volatile as a result of the Iran war; oil and gas prices have recently risen sharply since the war began almost two weeks ago. A particular focus is on the Strait of Hormuz – a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which a significant portion of global oil trade normally passes. Shipping traffic there has almost come to a standstill. (dab/sda/dpa)