US officials announced yesterday that the sanctions waiver for the Russian oil giant Lukoil has been extended to include its gas stations outside of Russia. This move comes as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to curb surging crude oil prices.

As reported by AFP, this decision by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will allow Lukoil stations in countries like the US to continue serving their customers until October 29.

OFAC explained that this measure permits these gas stations to conduct transactions within the “ordinary course of business,” which includes purchasing automotive supplies, covering insurance premiums, and paying employee salaries.

Oil prices spiked sharply following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The office noted that extending the waiver is an effort to “mitigate the impact on consumers resulting from Lukoil’s addition to the OFAC list.”

Lukoil was previously operating under a waiver issued by OFAC in December 2025, which was originally scheduled to expire on April 29.

Russia has been facing extensive US and European sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, gas prices in the US have surged past $4 a gallon, hitting their highest mark since 2022 and mounting political pressure on the Trump administration.

Following discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 9, Trump revealed plans to lift certain oil sanctions, explicitly stating that the goal of this step was to “bring prices down.”