Russia Oil Production

Fresh US waiver terms may curb Russian oil supplies to India as sanctioned cargo availability shrinks and refiners face mounting geopolitical uncertainty

he US has extended sanctions waiver on Russian oil purchases till June 17, easing pressure on Indian refiners reliant on discounted crude imports

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says 30-day extension will help stabilise crude markets and support countries affected by Gulf supply disruptions

India will continue purchasing Russian crude oil despite the expiry of the US waiver, while fuel retailers' under-recoveries have narrowed after the recent price hike

The developments mean that there are now at least 20 tankers being used to ferry LNG from sanctioned Russian projects

Under the latest US waiver, countries have been allowed to purchase Russian crude oil and petroleum products until May 16 that were loaded onto vessels on or before April 17

The US first provided a green light in March, and then widened that with an authorization that runs until May 16, in an effort to limit rising oil prices with additional barrels

The United States had eased sanctions on Russian oil in mid-March to counteract global oil shortages resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

The stance highlights the fine balance the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer is seeking ‌to strike between securing energy supplies and avoiding LNG cargoes under sanctions

Fears over the expiry of a US sanctions waiver pushed India's Russian oil imports to record highs as refiners raced to secure supplies

The closure of Strait of Hormuz (SoH), analysts said, is the primary reason for this as oil supplies from this region remain curtailed.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the US does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea. And, he said, a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table. "Not the Iranians," Bessent told The Associated Press. "We have the blockade, and there's no oil coming out." "And we think in the next two, three days, they're going to have to start shuttering production, which will be very bad for their wells." Bessent's statements come as the world is on edge over the US-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The US originally issued a waiver for Russian oil sales and petroleum products in March with the intent of stabilising global energy markets after crude oil prices surged above USD 100 per barrel. The Treasury Department renewed the waiver two days after Bessent said at the White House that he had no plan

Hungarian oil group MOL said on Wednesday that Ukraine had informed it that deliveries of Russian crude had resumed through the pipeline

Russian officials said that a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse sparked a fire and killed at least one person

US renews Russia oil waiver, offering relief to India amid Hormuz disruptions, as refiners rely on diversified crude sources to maintain supplies

The Iran-US-Israel conflict effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, the artery of India's oil trade

The waiver comes despite earlier US reluctance, as war-linked supply disruptions and Strait of Hormuz curbs push oil prices higher and test Western efforts to restrict Russia's revenues

Indian refiners plan to continue sourcing Russian crude from non-sanctioned suppliers and vessels despite US decision not to renew temporary sanctions waivers

India's state-run refiners sharply increased Russian crude purchases in March amid supply disruptions, aided by a US waiver, even as overall crude imports declined

Imports from Russia averaged 1.98 million barrels a day in March, the highest since June 2023, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler