WASHINGTON, April 18. /TASS/. The United States has 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, according to a general license published on the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department.

The document applies to Russian crude oil or petroleum products "loaded on any vessel, including vessels blocked under the above-listed authorities (listed on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions lists - TASS), on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time (4:01 am GMT - TASS), April 17, 2026." Such operations are authorized until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, or 4:01 am GMT, on May 16, 2026.

The license does not authorize transactions involving a number of Russian regions, including Crimea, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), as well as Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. The document also notes that the new general license replaces and supersedes in its entirety a similar license issued on March 19, which expired on April 11.

On March 12, the US 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 US 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. At a White House briefing on April 15, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington does not plan to extend carveouts from its sanctions for Russian and Iranian oil on board tankers at sea.