TREASURY LICENSE COLLIDES WITH RUSSIA OIL BAN

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on October 9, clearing the way for Russian-origin diesel to reach American and global buyers through April 7, 2027. Under the arrangement, Russia pledged 300,000 tons of diesel immediately and another 500,000 tons in November, with a 1-million-ton tranche to follow. The license runs head-on into the 2022 law that bars most Russian energy imports into the United States, a conflict serious enough that a bipartisan group in the House has already filed a bill to block the deal. Refiners such as Valero ($VLO) are the ones left watching whether the extra diesel actually reaches the market or gets stuck behind the legal fight.