International sanctions designed to stop Iran's disputed nuclear programme would only really bite if its other big Asian buyers follow India's lead and bow to U.S. pressure to cut the flow of oil money to Tehran.
The Islamic Republic will forego around $45 million a day or a total of $1.4 billion in August -- if it halts around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports to India -- where refiners have run up a $5 billion debt since India's central bank blocked payments to Iran after pressure from Washington.
With Iranian heavy crude selling for around $40 more a barrel than a year ago, Iran's 2 million bpd plus sales to other customers should make up for the Indian export dip -- especially as Iran is likely to store the oil and to sell it later.
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