India bulks up Russia oil; US allows 30-day waiver

Now at a premium, Russian crude imports surge after start of war in West Asia

- SHUBHANGI MATHUR & SUDHEER PAL SINGH

The United States has issued a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian oil refiners to purchase Russian crude currently stranded at sea, as a short-term measure to keep supplies flowing amid disruptions caused by the ongoing Iran war.

The American waiver comes even as India’s imports of Russian crude surged to 1.37 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the first six days of March, about 30 percent higher than the 1.04 mbpd imported from Russia during the whole of February 2026, according to fresh data from trade intelligence firm Kpler.

The waiver expires on April 4, 2026, according to an order issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department. “To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement posted on social media platform X on Friday.