The U.S. administration plans to resume its sanctions against Russian oil after it is no longer necessary to lower energy prices amid the developments around Iran, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.
According to him, the issuance of a license for operations with Russian oil and its extension were temporary measures.
"All that Russian oil, it goes to China anyway, or we're temporarily allowing it to flow instead of all to China, just flow into other Asian refineries. It's to lower the price of energy in Asia and in Europe," Chris Wright said.
When asked if this means that the sanctions on Russian oil will be re-imposed in some time, the minister answered, "Absolutely."
Earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department authorized operations involving the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian origin loaded onto tankers before April 17, to continue until May 16.
On March 12, the U.S. Treasury Department lifted sanctions on operations involving the sale of oil and petroleum products from Russia loaded onto vessels before that date. On March 19, the U.S. Treasury updated the license, adding provisions banning transactions involving a number of Russian regions, including Crimea, as well as North Korea and Cuba. The license expired on April 11.
