Yesterday, Thursday, the US Treasury Department announced the issuance of a new general license allowing the purchase of crude oil and Russian petroleum products transported by sea until next April 11.
In a related context, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said in a statement that this new authorization aims to “increase the global scope of current supplies,” stressing at the same time that it is “a narrow-scope and short-term measure.”
He also explained that this measure would not provide “a significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenues from taxes imposed at the point of extraction.”
Besant had previously stated that the administration of President Donald Trump was considering the possibility of lifting sanctions on more Russian oil.
This license will come into effect on March 12, one day after the US Department of Energy announced the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve with the aim of reducing the sharp rise in crude oil prices resulting from the war with Iran.
The decision to release this amount was taken within the framework of a broader commitment by the International Energy Agency, which includes 32 countries, to release 400 million barrels of oil.
