U.S. issues Russian-oil waiver
The U.S. Treasury issued a new 30-day waiver allowing certain sales of Russian crude—while explicitly excluding Cuba and North Korea from the carve-out (reuters.com). At the same time, U.S. officials are reportedly considering removing sanctions on Iranian oil stuck at sea to release roughly 140 million barrels and ease supply strains (economictimes.indiatimes.com).
OFAC issued Russia-related General License 134 (GL 134) on March 12, 2026, authorizing a narrow set of transactions “ordinarily incident and necessary” to the sale, delivery or offloading of Russian‑origin crude and petroleum products loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 a.m. EDT on March 12; the authorization runs through 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 11, 2026. (content.govdelivery.com) GL 134 explicitly lists covered activities such as safe docking and anchoring, preservation of crew health and safety, emergency repairs and environmental mitigation, and services including vessel management, crewing, bunkering, piloting, insurance, classification and salvage for qualifying cargoes. (clearytradewatch.com) The license does not authorize transactions barred by other sanctions programs — GL 134 expressly excludes activities prohibited under the Cuba and North Korea sanctions regimes. (clearytradewatch.com) Treasury officials moved to tighten the carve‑out for deliveries to certain destinations after reports of tankers reportedly heading to Cuba, with the Treasury publicly noting Cuba is prohibited from taking Russian oil under the amended authorization. (cnbc.com) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on March 19 that the U.S. “may unsanction” about 140 million barrels of Iranian crude currently afloat — a volume he described as roughly 10 to 14 days of global supply that could be freed for sale. (usnews.com) Bessent also said coordinated releases of other emergency stocks would bring available “excess” barrels to about 260 million, a figure Bloomberg reported as part of the administration’s short‑term market‑stabilization levers. (bloomberg.com) Oil markets stayed elevated after the announcements, with contemporaneous reporting showing prices remained higher on Friday despite Treasury signals that sanctioned Iranian barrels and temporary Russian cargo wind‑downs could add near‑term supply. (cnbc.com)
