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The Trump administration is unlikely to issue a new a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil as part of any efforts to tame high fuel prices, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
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“That was a broad-based reprieve,” Wright said Wednesday at an event held by the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t think you will see that extended.”
The US Treasury had issued the waiver in March allowing for the sale of Russian crude stranded aboard tankers at sea as the war in Iran cut off supply from the Persian Gulf and sent prices surging. It expired April 11.
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Oil prices are up more than 30% since the war began, driving up prices of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer and other products. Those increases are putting immense pressure on President Donald Trump to keep a lid on consumer prices in advance of November’s midterm elections.
The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil flows, has caused the biggest-ever oil market disruption. On Monday, Trump imposed a naval blockade of the waterway after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal over the weekend to extend the fragile ceasefire that’s in place.
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When the waiver for buying Russian crude was in effect, deliveries of cargoes previously stranded at sea surged. It allowed Moscow to earn more from oil exports than at any time since the early weeks of the Ukraine war.
A separate waiver allowing for the sale of seaborne Iranian oil and petrochemical products is set to expire April 19.
— With assistance from Courtney Brogle
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