In an interview with CNBC, Boone Pickens stated that natural gas should be used as a transportation fuel because it is cheap and abundant.  Pickens’ idea is a valid one, although oil shouldn’t be totally discarded as a transportation fuel.

The U.S. consumes about 25 million barrels of oil a day, six of which we produce ourselves.  About 52 percent of a barrel of oil goes into the refining of gasoline so we consume about 12.5 million barrels of oil a day for transportation needs (cars and trucks).  World demand and daily production of oil is around 85 million barrels of oil a day.

If we used natural gas to run even half our daily transportation needs, we could reduce our daily purchase of foreign oil by 6.25 million barrels of oil per day.  This would in turn reduce the world demand to 78.75 million barrels a day, 6.25 million barrels less than the world’s present daily needs.

This daily surplus of oil would result in an almost instant drop in the price of oil, probably below $50 a barrel.  The drop in domestic fuel prices would be less dramatic because the price of natural gas would surely increase.

We already have the technology to convert gasoline burning engines to natural gas burning engines.  The technology is safe and inexpensive.  While oil refiners might take an immediate economic hit, the rest of our economy would benefit, both locally and globally.

Boone Pickens has a great idea and I think it is time that we begin implementing it - or at least open the subject for a national debate.  This article written by Eric Wilder

http://www.ericwilder.com