US lifts restrictions, 100 million barrels of Russian oil affected

Moscow — The lifting of restrictions by the United States will impact approximately 100 million barrels of Russian oil currently in transit, according to Russian officials on Friday.

The statement was delivered by Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and special envoy of the Russian president for economic cooperation with foreign countries.

Earlier that same day, the US government authorised the sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that had been loaded onto ships by Thursday (12 March).

“US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that his administration not only eased restrictions on crude oil purchases from Russia by India, but also lifted all restrictions on approximately 100 million barrels of Russian oil currently in transit,” Dmitriev stated in his Telegram post.

According to him, the policy is likely to face opposition from some quarters of the European Union bureaucracy, which he referred to as “Brussels bureaucracy.”

Dmitriev also stated that by lifting restrictions on Russian oil, the United States is acknowledging that the global energy market would be difficult to keep stable without supplies from Russia.

Source: Sputnik/RIA Novosti