The Russian supertanker Astro Lupus expects to unload its cargo of the first direct shipment of Russian crude oil on July 3, 2002 in the Gulf of Mexico.
Swimming pool | AFP | fake images
The United States on Thursday temporarily authorized the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea to stabilize energy markets.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X that this was a “very tailored short-term measure” that applies only to oil already in transit.
CNBC understands there are approximately 124 million barrels of Russian-sourced oil in the sea at 30 locations around the world as of March 12, enough for about five or six days of supply.
“The temporary rise in oil prices is a temporary, short-term disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and our economy in the long term,” Bessent said.
Oil prices have seen wild swings since the start of the war with Iran, and on Monday oil was close to reaching almost $120 per barrel.
Global benchmark Brent closed just above $100 a barrel on Thursday after Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.
Bessent noted that the temporary measure will not provide “significant financial benefits to the Russian government.”
The Treasury secretary said this is because Moscow gets most of its energy revenue from taxes levied at the point of extraction.
A notice on the Treasury website said the exemption would cover Russian crude products loaded onto ships before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, and that purchases are allowed until April 11 at 12:01 a.m.
The move comes after Washington last Thursday granted a 30-day waiver to India to buy Russian crude, and Bessent also said it will not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government “as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.”
The G7 and the European Union have currently imposed sanctions on Russian oil for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, imposing a price cap of $44.1 per barrel for Russian oil.
The EU has also committed to phasing out all remaining oil imports from Russia by the end of 2027.
In 2022, then-US President Joe Biden had banned the import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal into the United States.
