And he has a few good arguments. Even in the US it’s way cheaper and cleaner than oil…

Pickens: ‘Dumbest People’ Not Using Natural Gas
Monday, 15 Mar 2010 09:06 AM
By: Julie Crawshaw

U.S reserves of natural gas seem to have jumped dramatically during the past year, and the price of natural gas remains very low.

Four thousand trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas ought to be enough to get Washington’s attention, but somehow it isn’t, says energy investor T. Boone Pickens, “which makes us number one in the world.”

“We’ll be identified as the dumbest people in the world if we don’t capitalize on this resource and replace OPEC oil.”

The way to draw attention to the benefits of natural gas over any other vehicular fuel is to “go after the 18 million 18-wheelers,” Pickens says. “When a new 18-wheeler is purchased, it would go to domestic fuel, and that would be natural gas” Pickens says.

“If we had those, we would cut OPEC in half.”

Pickens expects that oil prices will reach $85 to $90 a barrel in the next six months. “One Mcf (thousand cubic feet of natural gas) of natural gas equals seven gallons of diesel,” Pickens notes. “Seven gallons of diesel is $21; one Mcf of natural gas is five dollars.”

“This is an unbelievable opportunity for America to go to a fuel of our own resource in this country at a fraction of what we’re paying the enemy for their oil.”

The head of Libya’s National Oil Company says the global oil market is oversupplied, and that OPEC would not change production quotas when its members next meet in Vienna on Wednesday.

“We do not foresee a change in OPEC (production) quotas,” Shukir Ghanem said.

“Before considering an increase or a cut in production, (existing) quotas should be respected.”