Context
Refiners in India have asked the country’s biggest supplier Saudi Arabia to provide more oil in August, according to sources, as they fear that Iran will block shipments of some 400,000 barrels per day in protest against a seven-month payment delay triggered by US pressure. Tehran has threatened to halt supply in August with New Delhi’s $5bn debt for unpaid oil rising. The dispute erupted in December last year when Indian central bank stopped approving payments through a former payment system. UN and US sanctions don’t forbid purchasing Iranian oil, but they have certainly made it difficult to trade.
