U.S. issues 30-day waiver for sale of Russian oil at sea to India

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on March 5, 2026 issued a Russia-related General License (GL 133) authorizing the delivery and sale of Russian-origin crude and petroleum products loaded on vessels on or before March 5 to ports in India for a 30-day period. The measure was framed as a narrowly tailored, temporary step to keep energy supplies flowing amid regional disruptions.

The license explicitly covers vessels loaded by 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 5, 2026, and authorizes transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery or offloading of such cargo if the delivery occurs at an Indian port and the purchaser is an entity organized under Indian law; the authorization runs through 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 4, 2026. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the waiver as a short-term, targeted measure to alleviate global market pressure.

Markets reacted quickly to the developments: benchmark crude benchmarks experienced intraday volatility as traders priced in a temporary increase in available supply. At the same time, officials signaled that they were weighing options to ease restrictions on Iranian crude already at sea as a further step to stabilize prices, a possibility that amplified short-term market sensitivity.

The action underlines Washington’s approach of using limited, tactical exceptions within broader sanctions frameworks to respond to acute energy shocks while retaining overall pressure on targeted states. OFAC’s narrowly drawn license preserves the wider sanctions architecture against Russia and maintains separate prohibitions related to Iranian-origin goods, even as authorities consider measured steps to relieve supply stress. The temporary nature of the waiver signals caution rather than a structural policy shift.

Analysts say the waiver may ease near-term supply constraints and help cap price spikes, but emphasize that sustained stability requires broader de-escalation in the region and alternative supply arrangements. Market participants will monitor vessel deliveries, compliance details in the OFAC license, and any subsequent moves regarding Iranian cargoes; these variables will determine whether volatility subsides or returns in coming weeks.