The United States Treasury Department is considering lifting sanctions on Russian oil to address the global oil shortage caused by the military operation against Iran in the Middle East.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said this on March 6 on the Kudlow program on Fox Business.
The day before, the United States eased sanctions on Russian oil for India for 30 days: the country's refineries will be able to buy Russian oil that is stuck on tankers at sea. Bessent mentioned this, praising New Delhi, which this fall, at Washington's request, stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil and was going to replace it with American. But for now, the United States has given India permission to accept Russian oil.
“We can lift sanctions on other Russian oil. There are hundreds of millions of barrels of oil in the water that are sanctioned, and, in essence, by lifting the sanctions, the Treasury Department can create an offer, and we are considering this possibility,” he noted.
On October 22, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Rosneft, Lukoil and their subsidiaries. The list includes more than 34 companies. This decision was made “due to Russia's lack of serious commitment to the peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
On March 6, the US Treasury Department lifted sanctions on Rosneft's German subsidiary, Rosneft Deutschland.