In early March 2026, amid an ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran that disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz (severely limiting Middle Eastern oil flows and driving Brent crude prices above $100 per barrel, near highs not seen since 2022), the U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary 30-day waiver.

This allowed countries to purchase and receive Russian crude and petroleum products that were already loaded on tankers and stranded at sea as of around March 12, 2026. The waiver expires around April 11, 2026.

Key details:

• The measure targeted roughly 120–130 million barrels of Russian oil already afloat (equivalent to a limited short-term boost to global supply, perhaps a few days’ worth of disrupted flows through Hormuz).
• It followed an initial narrower waiver for Indian refineries.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described it as a “narrowly tailored, short-term” step to stabilize energy markets and curb price spikes caused by the Iran war, not a broad or permanent lifting of sanctions.
• The Kremlin welcomed the move, with Russian officials claiming it acknowledged the necessity of Russian supply for global stability, while providing some financial relief to Moscow.

However, the impact has been limited so far:

• Oil prices remained elevated (around or above $100–$112 per barrel in mid-to-late March reports), suggesting the waiver hasn’t flooded markets or significantly lowered prices yet.
• Critics, including European leaders, U.S. Democrats (e.g., Sen. Adam Schiff and others), and pro-Ukraine groups, condemned it as counterproductive—potentially enriching Russia amid its war in Ukraine and undermining prior sanctions pressure.
• Some reports framed it dramatically as Russian oil “poised to flood” markets, but analysts noted it’s a targeted, time-bound relief for existing cargoes rather than a full reopening of flows.

This is tied to broader efforts to mitigate economic fallout from the Iran conflict, including similar temporary reprieves considered or applied to Iranian oil in some cases. No evidence points to a permanent or full lift of sanctions on Russian oil exports as of late March 2026—the actions remain emergency-oriented and limited in scope.

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Russian Oil Poised To Flood World Markets As Trump Admin Lifts Sanctions

From THE DAILY CALLER

Sean Hustedde
Contributor

The Trump administration is lifting sanctions on Russian oil to counter Iran’s stranglehold on Middle Eastern energy.

The U.S. began Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Khamanei and striking key military locations in the Islamic Republic. Iran’s retaliatory strikes caused tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to plummet, dramatically increasing prices and prompting the Trump administration to temporarily lift Russian oil sanctions. (RELATED: Iran Claims Ships From All Countries May Transit Strait Of Hormuz, Except Israel, US)

The U.S. Department of the Treasury gave a temporary 30-day waiver on Russian oil sanctions March 5 to allow for Indian refineries to purchase Russian crude oil already in transit on the sea. The U.S. Treasury announced on March 12 the temporary tariff suspension would apply to all countries until April 5.

.@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

Over 130 million barrels of Russian crude oil remained on the sea as of March 6, according to a report by Kpler.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the U.S. put immense pressure on India through a 25% tariff to get the nation to stop buying Russian crude oil in January interview at the World Economic Forum.

Bessent said allowing for the Indian refineries to buy in transit Russian crude oil was an inevitability because they were a quick crude oil source and would limit oil flow to China in a podcast interview posted March 12.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury referred to Bessent’s X post on the sanctions when reached for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Trump administration agreed to lower the 25% tariffs on Indian imports as the Indian government agreed to scale back their purchases of Russian crude oil in February, according to a report by the Economic Times Energyworld.

Chinese state-run oil companies Sinopec and PetroChina began exploring Russian crude oil purchases following the lifting of sanctions, according to a report by Reuters. Two trade sources told Reuters that no deals had been struck as of Tuesday but Russian crude oil seemed to be the favored alternative due to it being cheaper than other alternatives like Brazil and West Africa.

The Chinese oil companies stopped purchasing Russian oil in late October to comply with the Trump administration’s sanctions on the Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Palmer Luckey Warns US Lead Over China In AI Is ‘Extremely Small’) 

Indonesian Energy Minister Bahil Lahadalia told reporters Monday that that the country is considering Russian crude acquisitions during the U.S. sanctions reprieve, according to reporting by Reuters. Indonesian Senior Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters the government will likely have to cut spending from the budget to meet rising oil prices, rather than enter into a deficit, according to a Reuters report.

Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Edward Fishman told The New York Times that Russian oil sanctions would likely not impact the global oil price, noting that Russia’s oil delivery to Indian refineries made little to no difference to the market. Fishman said Russian oil prices had been rising since the Iran war’s beginning and there could be a likelihood of an indefinite sanctions suspension against Russian oil.

Before sanctions were lifted, Russian “shadow fleet” oil tankers were seen moving through the Gulf of Oman following the war with Iran. The M/V Trust oil tanker, a ship with a documented history of sanctions evasion, met an unidentified tanker on March 3 with its automatic identification system turned off in the Gulf of Oman, according to a Windward report. The meeting between the two ships showed characteristics common to a dark ship-to-ship transfer.

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