Pickens: I'm On Sidelines ... $100 Oil in 2009

He's been knocked down before, he intends to recover again, but for now, Boone Pickens is out of the market.

The oil industry legend's BP Capital has been slammed by the credit crunch, shrinking by about 60 percent so far this year.  That's a drop of some $2 billion since it peaked in late June.

"We're out of the market, and have been for several weeks," Pickens told CNBC's "Squawk Box."  "I want to see a little more (from) the market before we move back in again; we're not going to be in any rush."

(Watch the accompanying videos for the full interview with Boone Pickens.)

He said his fund will have been cut down to around $500 million by the end of the week, when the last redemptions have been made.

The fund was badly hurt by the precipitous drop in the price of oil.  Pickens predicts that price will recover to about $100 per barrel during 2009.

"This is the worst credit crunch I've ever had," he said, adding, "We've been through them before; you just work your way through it."

He predicts consolidation as the oil industry struggles to cope with the price plunge.

"I guess I'm kind of anxious to see the first offer for a company," he said.  "We may be a few months away from it."

He declined to name names.

© 2009 CNBC.com