Russia Will Join OPEC Soon, Boone Pickens Predicts

Russia will likely become a member of OPEC soon, billionaire investor and alternative-energy advocate T. Boone Pickens said Monday.

AP Boone Pickens

That membership "will not be favorable to the United States," Pickens told a gathering of mayors.

Pickens is promoting increased investment in wind power and natural gas to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports.

At a press conference after his speech, Pickens said he has met twice with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team to promote his plan, which has won the support of 187 U.S. mayors.

Pickens began promoting his plan this summer, when crude prices peaked over $147 per barrel and interest in alternative energy surged.

Since then, the price of oil has tumbled as demand in the United States and other big countries has slowed.

Pickens, chairman of BP Capital, recently told CNBC that oil will reach $75 a barrel within a year and go back up to $140 a barrel when the global economy turns around.

Pickens said importing 70 percent of our oil poses a significant threat to the U.S. economy, and he expects energy independence has a better chance under the Obama administration.

Pickens is taking his renewable energy plan—the "Pickens Plan"—back to Capitol Hill today. He forecasts his plan will create 138,000 jobs within a year and 5 million jobs within 10 years.

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