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Pickens: Convert rigs from diesel to natural gas

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens predicted Tuesday that the United States will adopt a national energy plan by the end of the year.

“I think you’re going to have an energy plan for America, and I think you’re going to have it this year,” Pickens said, speaking at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. “You’re gonna have legislation. It’s gonna happen.”

Pickens said the country now consumes some 13 million barrels of oil every day. He predicted that in 10 years, three-quarters of the country’s oil will come from overseas, with a cost-per-barrel of $300.

Pickens was in Biloxi, Miss., speaking at a noon-hour discussion Tuesday. He was leaving Little Rock Tuesday evening to fly to Washington where he had a Wednesday morning meeting scheduled with congressional leaders.

Pickens said he supports a bill now before Congress that would have the federal government pay for tractor-trailers to be converted from diesel fuel to run on natural gas. Pickens said natural gas is a cheaper, cleaner alternative to diesel fuel.

Even better, he said, the United States has an abundance of natural gas. He said the plan could reduce the amount of foreign oil consumed by American truckers.

Pickens, 81, has invested $58 million in a national effort to reduce American dependency on foreign oil. He’s proposed a plan to emphasize domestic energy production, including increased use of natural gas.

He calls his plan the Pickens Plan, and said he’s “gonna go 100 percent full out” until a national energy policy is adopted. Pickens said the United States has lacked a national energy policy for at least 40 years.

“If you don’t have a plan and you’re against my plan, your plan is foreign oil,” Pickens said. “We cannot be against change for energy. You’ve got to be positive about it.”

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected] .