US waiver frees up 19 million barrels of Russia oil for purchase

Russian crude oil and fuel on about 30 tankers in Asian waters is potentially available for purchase after the US granted a temporary waiver to buy cargoes that were already at sea.

The vessels are carrying at least 19 million barrels of Russian crude and 310,000 tons of refined products, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The product is mainly naphtha — used to make plastics — and some diesel, prices of which have surged since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

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The crude is being carried on 25 vessels, with grades such as Sokol on ships near China. There’s also a number of tankers in the Arabian Sea that are mainly loaded with the medium-sour Urals blend.

The ships are signaling “for orders” — meaning they have no clear destination yet — or indicating they are going to Singapore or Malaysia, where tankers often wait as the barrels are marketed, the data show.

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The US Treasury granted a month-long waiver to import Russian oil loaded before Thursday, widening a similar provision that had seen Indian refiners snap up the sanctioned crude. The US move comes as hundreds of vessels carrying crude and refined products such as diesel and jet fuel are stuck behind the Strait of Hormuz.

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The US decision is “buying countries and refiners time to cope with the Mideast supply shock,” said Muyu Xu, senior crude analyst at Kpler Ltd. “Countries will buy whatever they can find — the priority is energy safety for all.”

China has, along with India, been one of the few buyers of Russian crude and products — which were sold at a discount after the US sanctions that are meant to limit Moscow’s access to funds for the war in Ukraine. Other major markets, including Japan and South Korea, have avoided the Russian barrels.