US Allows Russia Oil Sales Waiver to Expire Despite Tight Market

A worker inspects pipes at a drilling rig on the Gazprom PJSC Chayandinskoye oil, gas and condensate field in the Lensk district of the Sakha Republic, Russia.

Source: Bloomberg

The Trump administration allowed a waiver that encouraged more Russian crude sales to lapse, even as the Iran war stokes concerns about global oil supplies and higher fuel costs.

The expiration effectively ends for now a brief period where the administration eased sanctions on some Russian oil, enabling purchases that would otherwise be barred. The Trump administration issued an initial waiver in March and a second after the first expired in April — both applying only to a subset of Russian oil that had already been loaded onto tankers.