The European Union has formally appealed to India, an important buyer of Iranian crude oil, for help in resisting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program as early adjustments reported by the International Energy Agency indicate the market will remain amply supplied despite toughened sanctions.

Global oil demand in 2012 is expected to grow by 800,000 b/d from 2011, down from last month’s outlook for 1.1 million b/d of demand growth, according to the latest monthly oil market report from the International Energy Agency.

Following Total Group’s recent organization, the management committee of the newly created Supply-Marketing division, led by Philippe Boisseau, consists of:

Total appointed Graeme Burnett as senior vice-president, refining-petrochemicals Americas for Total’s newly created global refining-chemicals division.

A definition of swap dealer that the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is expected to announce on Feb. 23 could hinder oil and gas producers and others using over-the-counter risk management tools, the Natural Gas Supply Association and National Corn Grows Association jointly said.

Oil and natural gas shale plays are likely to drive 2012 merger and acquisition activity with the midstream and field service sectors likely to experience a growing share of oil and gas M&A, said two  separate reports from consultants analyzing last year’s activity.

Enactment of new federal pipeline safety legislation was a good start, but state pipeline regulators will need to address ongoing challenges to keep systems efficient and economic as well, officials attending the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners were told during its 2012 winter meeting.