US energy secretary Chris Wright on Friday explained the reasoning behind “allowing” India to buy Russian oil, calling it a temporary measure aimed at easing the pressure on the crude market due to the conflict with Iran.
The 30-day waiver for India was announced earlier by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Wright said it was a “practical way” to get the supply flowing.
“We have implemented short-term measures to help keep oil prices down. We are allowing our friends in India to take oil that is already on ships, refine it, and move those barrels into the market quickly. A practical way to get supply flowing and ease pressure,” Wright said in a post on X.
Speaking to ABC News, the energy secretary said that it wasn’t a policy change towards Russia but just a short-term measure.
“We reached out to our friends in India and said, ‘Buy that oil and bring it into your refineries, ’” he said in the interview.
We have implemented short term measures to help keep oil prices down.
We are allowing our friends in India to take oil that is already on ships, refine it, and move those barrels into the market quickly. A practical way to get supply flowing and ease pressure. pic.twitter.com/Y0i5wpxkcb
— Secretary Chris Wright (@SecretaryWright) March 6, 2026
The US doesn’t want India buying Russian oil in normal times and has even imposed a 25 per cent tariff on New Delhi for doing so. The tariff was removed early last month after US President Donald Trump said that India had agreed not to buy crude oil from Moscow.
Why The Reprieve Now?
The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, the conflict has escalated and engulfed the entire West Asia.
Iranian retaliatory attacks have forced the closure of several oil and gas fields in the region. The Strait of Hormuz, which is the route for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, is effectively closed due to security threats.
All this has made oil prices shoot up, so the US needed to step in.
What Scott Bessent Said On The 30-Day Waiver For India
Amid the escalating conflict with Iran, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, “President (Donald) Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded.
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.”
“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate the pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” Bessent said in a post on X.
This “deliberately short-term measure” will not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil that is already stranded at sea, Bessent said.
