The United States on Friday announced it was granting a 30-day “temporary” waiver to Indian refineries to continue its purchase of Russian energy.
The development comes amid concerns of a spike in energy prices due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US-Israel that has also spilt over to other Gulf nations.
The announcement was made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X, who clarified that the measure wouldn’t help Russia make significant financial gains “as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea”.
There were 9.5 million barrels of Russian oil sitting in Asian waters as of last week, a Bloomberg report said, further adding that the waiver from the US only applies to Russian products loaded onto vessels before March 5 and expires April 4 at 12:01 a.m. Washington time.
The Trump official said that the temporary waiver to India was aimed at taking off global pressure as Iran aims to “take global energy hostage”. “India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil,” the treasury secretary wrote on X.
How much oil left in India?
Amid the raging global conflict, Iran recently claimed to have closed the Strait of Hormuz, sparking worry of a spike in fuel prices, inflationary pressures, and economic instability in countries reliant on Middle East crude.
Lying between Iran and Oman, the important strait connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It reportedly facilitates roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas supply, making it one of the strategically important trade arteries of the world.
As concerns over a likely hike in energy prices mounted, India shared an update on its existing oil reserves and how long they could last. India’s strategic petroleum reserve can last 74 days to meet the demand arising out of any global turbulence, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Rajya Sabha earlier this week.
People familiar with the matter also told HT earlier that the West Asia conflict didn’t pose any immediate threat to India’s energy security.
Has India stopped buying Russian oil?
The US has said it was granting a temporary waiver to India on its purchase of Russian oil. The announcement came weeks after the US said India had committed to halting purchases of Russian crude, a claim yet to be acknowledged by Indian authorities.
Last month, Russia dismissed indications of India scaling back on its purchase of oil from Moscow and said it had no reason believe that would happen. “India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons benefits both countries and helps maintain stability in the international energy market,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The US’s claim on energy ties between India and Russia came as it cut down existing tariffs on imports from New Delhi to 18%.