Oil man Pickens to promote domestic energy

DALLAS, July 8 (UPI) -- Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens said he will spend millions on advertising to promote a national move to domestic energy sources.

The Pickens plan is to switch from gasoline to natural gas for vehicles and replace gas-burning power plants with a variety of sources, including coal, solar, wind and nuclear power, the Dallas News reported Tuesday.

"We've gotten ourselves into a trap," Pickens, 80, said. "The problem is, we said, 'Send us the oil and never mind the cost.'"

The U.S. bill for 5 billion barrels of imported oil at $140 a barrel is $700 billion, Pickens told the newspaper.

"Things were fine until the price went vertical on us," he said.

Pickens said his plan is to force energy to the forefront of issues in the presidential election.

So far, he has had mixed reactions. "His idea has some merit," said Bruce Bullock, director of Southern Methodist University's Maguire Energy Institute.

But, Rayola Dougher, an economist for the American Petroleum Institute, said the idea "sounds a little gimmicky," the report said.