The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended a license allowing the transit of Russian oil through Kazakhstan to China until March 19, 2027, Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said Wednesday, Interfax reports.
"Following negotiations with OFAC, the license for transit of Russian oil to China has been extended until March 19, 2027," the ministry said in response to questions from Interfax.
"Work and further interactions with OFAC on this matter will continue," the ministry said.
The ministry said that Russian oil was currently being delivered to China via Kazakhstan on the grounds of the exceptions stipulated by sanctions.
"The situation is being monitored constantly," it said.
Kazakhstan had been informed by OFAC that its previous license for the transit of Russian oil to China would expire on April 29, 2026, director of transportation at KazTransOil Islamdaut Akubayev said.
Kazakhstan annually transports 10 million tonnes of Russian oil to China as part of an intergovernmental agreement effective until 2034. Astana and Moscow are currently negotiating to increase the transit volume to 12.5 million tonnes of oil per year.
