Over the past few years, oil prices have gone up and down like a rollercoaster, jumping to a record high in July 2008 of $147.27 per barrel and then falling back again to $33.87 in December.Even so, over the whole of 2009, the average oil price was still between $60 and $80 per barrel.security of energy supply is not only influenced by the cost of fuels,however,but by their long-term physical availability.