The US said it has given India "permission" to buy Russian oil that is currently on ships floating on waterways, with the goal of easing global supply amid the West Asia crisis.
"The globe is quite well supplied with oil. Yesterday, the Treasury (Department) agreed to allow our allies in India to begin purchasing Russian oil that was already on the ocean," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business on Friday.
"The Indians had been excellent actors." We had advised them to stop purchasing sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were intending to replace it with US oil.However, to alleviate the current oil shortage around the world, we have granted them permission to receive Russian oil. "We may unban other Russian oil," he stated.
Bessent went on to say that there are hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of crude on the water, and that "unsanctioning them allows Treasury to create supply." And we are looking into it. We will maintain a cadence of announcing actions to provide market relief during this conflict."
Several other Trump administration officials have also stated that the US has now authorized India to buy Russian oil, months after President Donald Trump put 25% punitive tariffs on Delhi's oil purchases from Moscow.In a post on X Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that the US is "allowing our friends in India" to take Russian oil from ships in Southern Asia, refine it, and quickly move it into the market to ensure a flowing supply and ease pressure amid the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran.We have implemented short-term actions to help keep oil costs down. We're allowing our Indian friends to take oil that's already on ships, refine it, and swiftly get those barrels to market. "A practical way to get supply flowing and relieve pressure," Wright explained.

In an interview with ABC News Live, Wright stated that long-term oil supplies are "abundant" and there are no concerns, but in the short term, there is a need to get oil onto the market.
"But as oil gets bid up a little bit because of those constraints coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, we're taking a short-term action to say all this floating Russian oil storage that's around Southern Asia, it's China just backed up, China does not treat their suppliers well, so there's a bunch of floating barrels just sitting there."We contacted our Indian pals and told them to get the oil. Bring it to your refineriesThis pushes stored oil directly into Indian refineries and relieves pressure on other refineries across the world to buy oil for which they are no longer competing with the Indians in that market," Wright explained.
"So, we have a lot of short-term and interim options. There is no change in policy towards Russia. This is a very limited policy adjustment intended to keep oil prices lower than they would otherwise be," he continued.
In the midst of the intensifying tension with Iran, the United States said on Thursday that it will grant Indian refiners a temporary 30-day waiver to import Russian oil.
"President Trump's energy strategy has resulted in the highest levels of oil and gas output on record..To let oil to continue flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department has issued a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to buy Russian oil," Bessent stated.
He stated that this "deliberately short-term measure" will bring no considerable financial gain to the Russian government because it only allows transactions involving oil that has already been stranded at sea.
"India is an important partner of the United States, and we fully expect New Delhi to increase purchases of US oil. "This stop-gap measure will relieve pressure caused by Iran's attempt to seize global energy," Bessent added.Trump imposed 25% punitive tariffs on India for importing Russian oil, claiming that Delhi's purchases were fueling Russia's war machine against Ukraine.
Last month, the US and India announced that they had reached a framework for an Interim Trade Agreement, and Trump issued an Executive Order removing India's 25% punitive tariffs, citing New Delhi's commitment to stop directly or indirectly importing energy from Moscow and purchasing American energy products.The Department of Treasury issued a statement titled 'Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Russian Federation Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 5, 2026 to India', stating that "all transactions prohibited…that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Russian Federation origin loaded on any vessel, including vessels blocked under the above listed authorities, on or the purchaser of such crude oil or petroleum products is an Indian-incorporated firm.
The general license issued by the Treasury Department stated that it does not authorize any other transactions or activities prohibited by any other Executive Order, including any transaction or activity involving Iran, the Iranian Government, or Iranian-origin goods or services that is prohibited by the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.