US Allows Sale of Iranian Crude Oil for 30 Days to Curb Surging Global Oil Prices

Bessent: "Leveraging Iranian Crude Oil to Suppress Prices"
From March 20 to April 19

The United States has decided to temporarily allow the sale of Iranian crude oil for one month in order to curb surging international oil prices caused by the situation in the Middle East.

Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Photo by Yonhap News.

Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, announced on X (formerly Twitter) on the 20th local time, "We have approved a very limited and short-term measure to allow the sale of Iranian crude oil that is currently stranded at sea."

Secretary Bessent explained, "China is currently buying sanctioned Iranian crude oil at a bargain price and stockpiling it. By temporarily releasing this supply onto the global market, approximately 140 million barrels of oil could flow in, which would help ease supply pressure caused by Iran." He emphasized, "Essentially, this is a way to leverage Iranian crude oil to suppress oil prices."

In connection with this, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on its website that a general license will be issued to temporarily permit all transactions involving the sale and import into the United States of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto ships before 12:01 a.m. on this day, until 12:01 a.m. on April 19.

Secretary Bessent believes that, assuming the closure of the Strait of Hormuz results in a daily supply shortfall of 10 million to 14 million barrels, this measure could stabilize the market for about three weeks. However, he clarified that this measure is strictly limited to oil already in transit and does not allow for new purchases or production.

The background behind the U.S. move to lift sanctions on Iranian crude oil is believed to be the sharp rise in international oil prices, which has continued for three weeks since Iran's airstrikes last month. The United States had previously also eased some sanctions on Russian oil. However, Brent crude, the international oil price benchmark, has already exceeded $112 per barrel.

Iran responded to the U.S. measure of temporarily exempting its crude oil from sanctions by stating that "there is no more oil left to sell." A spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum wrote on X, "Iran currently has no oil left at sea and no volume available to supply to other international markets," adding, "The statement by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury is only intended to give hope to buyers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.