US on Russian Oil: Amidst the Middle East conflict and fuel crisis, America has again taken a U-turn from its decision. The US has extended the exemption on Russian oil and petroleum products for one more month. According to the decision, Russian oil loaded on ships at sea can be purchased till May 16. It will benefit greatly from India as it will be able to continue buying cheap Russian oil.
In fact, the concession period on Russian oil had ended on April 11 itself. Just two days ago, US Finance Minister Scott Besant himself had said that America would not extend this period further, but now it has been extended again by one month.
According to reports, the US Treasury Department has given permission to buy the oil loaded in ships till Friday (April 17) till May 16. For this, the US Treasury Department issued a new license on its website late at night. However, America has taken this decision only regarding Russian oil. Oil from Iran, Cuba and North Korea are excluded from this licensing order.
Global oil supply has been significantly affected due to the war with Iran and the Hormuz crisis. Besides, there was a huge jump in the prices of crude oil. In such a situation, the Trump administration has taken this decision to keep prices stable and maintain the supply of oil.
America had earlier given exemption on Russian oil on March 12, 2026, which ended on April 11, 2026. During this period, Indian refineries were able to buy already loaded Russian crude, which reduced the impact of oil shortage in the global market to some extent. According to intelligence firm Kpler, India bought an average of 1.98 million barrels of crude oil from Russia daily in March, which is the highest since June 2023. At the same time, India has purchased about 60 million barrels of oil from Russia for April delivery.
According to intelligence firm Kpler, India bought an average of 1.98 million barrels of crude oil per day from Russia in March, which is the highest quantity since June 2023. India has ordered about 60 million barrels of oil from Russia for April delivery.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ambassador to India Denis Alipov assured that his country will increase energy exports to India, including crude oil, LPG and LNG. He said that Russia has already increased oil supplies to India and is fully prepared to meet India’s entire oil requirement. The Ambassador described India as a reliable partner.
Iran announced opening of Hormuz
Here, Iran has completely opened the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire. Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi posted on Twitter that all commercial ships will be allowed to pass. This decision has been taken after the ceasefire in Lebanon.