During an appearance on CNBC’s morning Squawk Box program, T. Boone Pickens again predicted that the price of Brent crude oil – the world price – would be back up to $90 to $100 in 12 to 18 months.

Pickens pointed out that OPEC is no longer a cartel, but “it’s a trade association.” Saudi Arabia has the hard currency resources to ride out $60 oil but “countries like Venezuela and Nigeria are broke.”

Pickens said, “the cheapest oil in the world is right here in the United States” and that the amount of oil being drilled from both traditional wells and shale deposits has helped the American economy and “amounts to a trillion dollar tax cut.”

75 oil rigs had been “dropped” in the past three weeks and he wouldn’t be surprised if 40 percent of rigs were taken out of service in the U.S. until prices recover.

“And prices will recover,” Pickens said, explaining that excess inventory would be consumed and “demand will go back up” and oil and natural gas producers would bring their rigs back on line.

He also talked about the Pickens Plan, promising that “heavy trucks and railroads” would lead the way to transition away from largely imported diesel to domestic natural gas. “Natural gas is still cheaper than diesel,” he said, “but America needs an energy plan and the Pickens Plan is a plan for America.”