Indian, other Asian refiners eye Iranian oil after US temporarily waives sanctions: Report

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Indian and other Asian refiners are looking at resuming purchase of Iranian crude. This follows Washington's temporary easing of sanctions to help alleviate an energy shortage caused by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, traders said on Saturday.

At least three refining sources, as per a Reuters report, indicated that they plan to purchase Iranian oil but are waiting for government directions and further clarity from Washington, particularly issues like payment terms.

Refiners in India with lower crude stockpiles compared to other major Asian oil importers quickly moved to secure Russian oil after the US temporarily eased sanctions recently. The Indian government could not be immediately reached for comment.

Several other Asian refiners are currently assessing whether they can resume purchasing Iranian oil, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

The Trump administration on Friday issued a 30-day sanctions waiver for the purchase of Iranian oil already at sea, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced. It is the third time that US has temporarily waived sanctions on oil since the start of the war.

He called the Iranian oil waiver a "narrowly tailored, short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea", in a post on X.

"At present, sanctioned Iranian oil is being hoarded by China on the cheap. By temporarily unlocking this existing supply for the world, the United States will quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets, expanding the amount of worldwide energy and helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply caused by Iran. In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against Tehran to keep the price down as we continue Operation Epic Fury," he wrote.

Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and through President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, we are winning this critical fight at an even faster pace than anticipated. In response to Iran’s terrorist attacks against global energy infrastructure, the Trump…

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— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) March 20, 2026

"This temporary, short-term authorization is strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production," Bessent added.

In addition to sanctions waivers, the Trump administration released more than 45 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves and temporarily waived a century-old shipping mandate in order to lower transport costs.

Millions of barrels at sea

According to Emmanuel Belostrino, Kpler's senior manager for crude oil market data, about 170 million barrels of Iranian crude are at currently sea on ships scattered from the Middle East Gulf to the waters near China.

Consultancy Energy Aspects on March 19 estimated 130-140 million barrels of Iranian oil on water, equivalent to less than 14 days of current Middle East production losses.

Asia depends on the Middle East for about 60% of its crude imports, and the near-shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz this month has pushed refineries across the region to scale back operations and reduce fuel exports.