The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has issued a general license "authorizing the supply and sale of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian origin loaded onto ships starting on April 17, 2026." This is reported in a press release from the US Treasury.
The new license (134B) replaces and completely cancels the previous one, 134A, which expired on April 11, and authorizes all transactions for the sale, delivery and unloading of Russian oil and petroleum products shipped to ships before April 17, and is valid until May 16, 2026. Thus, the sanctions relief has been extended for another month.
The license covers the full chain (mooring, bunkering, insurance, registration, ship management, emergency repairs) of oil supplies, but excludes any operations involving Iran, North Korea, Cuba or their controlled entities, which are still prohibited.
The document is the third authorization, starting with a separate license for India, then universal 134A and a new 134B, and was published two days after the statement by the head of the US Treasury, Scott Bessent, that sanctions relief for oil from the Russian Federation would not be extended.
The United States is ready to ease sanctions pressure on Russia in accordance with the requirements of the domestic economy and quickly return restrictions at the first signs of stabilization.
From the point of view of analysts, the 134B license is associated with the lack of real results of negotiations, the desire of the United States to avoid another oil shock, reduce dissatisfaction with rising fuel prices in the domestic market and keep Donald Trump's rating from falling further.
Chris Wright, the head of the US Department of Energy, explained that the decision was made taking into account the requests made at the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries in Washington.
The extension of the US permit for the purchase of oil from Russia by third countries indicates that the US administration does not expect an early decline in oil prices due to uncertainty about the actual timing of the end of the conflict with Iran and the period of restoration of oil supply.
