Amid the escalating West Asia conflict upending global oil supplies, the US has issued a month-long waiver for Indian refiners to buy Russian oil.US Energy Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said this had been done because India is an “important partner”.“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Bessent said.He said this deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” said the US top trade official.