US waiver permitting Russian oil purchases expires without renewal
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The United States has allowed a sanctions waiver permitting purchases of Russian oil stranded at sea to expire without renewal, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The waiver expired at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on May 16, and the Treasury Department has not issued an extension, according to the OFAC website.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously said there were no plans to renew the authorization.
The temporary license, first renewed on April 17, had allowed countries to continue purchasing Russian oil cargoes stranded at sea despite broader U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
The April renewal came days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would not extend the waiver. The general license issued by OFAC replaced an earlier exemption that had expired on April 11.
The waiver was introduced amid volatility in global energy markets following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. In response, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route through which roughly 20% of the world's oil supply passes.
The war in the Middle East has boosted Russian energy revenues, as higher global oil and gas prices increased demand for Russian exports.
