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The story this month is surely the soaring oil price and the question of whether these record high prices are sustainable. As Energy Risk went to press, front-month Nymex crude was at almost $94 a barrel. Our special report takes an in-depth look at the global oil markets. In the opening feature, David Watkins speaks to 10 oil analysts about their outlook for next year and their 2008 price forecasts. Roderick Bruce then looks at the spiralling costs of oil exploration and production projects, which are putting a firm floor under oil prices.

With volatile prices driving more people into the oil trading space, hiring experienced oil traders is becoming more and more key. We also look at the hunt for talent, which is pushing up salaries in the oil trading business. The report ends with a look at how physical supply and logistics issues are becoming ever more integrated with oil trading and offers some solutions for staying ahead amidst this new paradigm.

Also in this issue, look out for Hugh Sharman's detailed assessment of the UK's security of supply situation.

To kick things off, this issue brings you our third annual risk management survey, conducted by Energy Risk in conjunction with Towers Perrin. In it, energy risk management professionals reveal which risks they measure, what hinders them from measuring all the risks they would like to, which risk metrics they use and what they consider the greatest challenges in their job. We hope you find it very interesting reading.