Editor's letter

It's that time of year again - the Energy Risk awards! As well as honouring the deserving winners, our awards write-ups offer a selection of case studies which chart the latest developments, innovative thinking and strategies in this dynamic sector.

Special recognition in the form of our Outstanding Achievement of the Year award goes to Shannon Burchett and his team at Risk Limited for their fuel relief work in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. You can read about the extraordinary efforts they went to to get much-needed fuel supplies into and around New Orleans.

With energy markets emerging and developing so quickly, much of the skill of any firm operating within them is in judging where the next big opportunity will be and moving in fast. In the article 'A prime time for energy prime brokerage', Ron Villarin discusses whether prime brokerage for energy companies could be the next business opportunity for banks. With electronic trading bringing in more players and more market places, energy companies may prefer to use the service of one bank for clearing, rather than develop separate relationships with a variety of exchanges, he argues.

Finally, Energy Risk's annual USA conference takes place in Houston between May 16th and May 18th this year. I hope to see many of you there!