Top Reasons the US Unlocked Russian Oil
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Washington has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil stored at sea, and did so not because of Moscow, but because of Tehran. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License No. 134, authorizing the sale, delivery and unloading of Russian oil and petroleum products that had already been loaded onto vessels before March 12, 2026. The license remains valid until April 11. The measure applies only to oil already in transit and does not authorize new production or exports. No country in history has been placed under more sanctions than Russia. Hormuz crisis forces a tactical shift The broader context behind the decision lies in the escalating crisis in the Middle East. Following U.S., Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a significant share of global oil supply passes. Energy markets reacted immediately. Oil prices quickly surged above $100 per barrel, raising fears of a rapid supply shock. Brent Oil Futures Price. Source: Investing.com Against this backdrop, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on the social media platform X that the license is a “narrowly targeted, short term measure.” According to him, it applies only to cargoes already in transit and is unlikely to generate significant additional revenue for Russia. Most of Moscow’s energy income, he noted, comes from production taxes rather than individual export transactions. According to shipping analytics cited by CNBC, more than 120 million barrels of Russian oil were floating in global waters at the time of the decision, stored across roughly 30 tanker storage units. That volume represents roughly five to six days of global oil consumption. Allowing these cargoes to reach buyers could quickly add supply to the market without requiring new production. Moscow interprets the move as recognition The Kremlin interpreted the…
Filed under: News - @ March 15, 2026 3:25 pm