Russia nearly doubled its earnings from oil exports in March as Moscow was granted sanctions relief in a bid to offset soaring energy prices during the war in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

The country earned $19 billion last month as crude and oil product exports soared to 7.1 million barrels per day (mb/d) from just 320,000 barrels a day in February. IEA also said on Tuesday that Russia’s crude production increased last month to 8.96 million bpd from 8.67 million bpd in February.

The United States eased some restrictions on sales of Russian crude imposed over its war in Ukraine, allowing countries to purchase oil that was already at sea until April 11. Analysts said Russian oil had previously been sold at a steep discount because sanctions raised legal, financial and logistical costs.