US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently signaled a pragmatic—if somewhat ironic—shift in energy policy. As geopolitical tensions in the Middle East disrupt shipping routes through the critical Strait of Hormuz, the US is weighing the release of additional sanctioned Russian oil to prevent a global supply crunch.

The Treasury Department is considering “unsanctioning” segments of Russian crude to flood the market with the “hundreds of millions of barrels” currently sitting in limbo. The goal is to stabilize energy markets that have been rattled by recent shipping disruptions.

This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The administration already granted a 30-day waiver to Indian refiners, acknowledging that while India had previously complied with US requests to stop buying Russian oil, the current supply shortfall required a temporary workaround.

The primary catalyst is the instability in the Middle East—specifically the exchange of attacks between the US, Israel, and Iran—which has effectively throttled oil transit, driving up prices and creating anxiety about long-term availability.