For the first time since the launch of the Pickens Plan in July 2008, oil imports accounted for less than 50 percent of the total U.S. monthly supply. Figures released this week indicate that only 47 percent of the oil used in the U.S. in November came from overseas.

Unfortunately, those 281 million barrels of imported oil cost on average more than $107 per barrel, which means our total tab for imported oil was in excess of $30 billion!

Specific figures on OPEC oil lag several months behind. The most recent stats indicate that in September 39 percent of our imported oil came from OPEC countries. So even as oil imports have declined, the distribution of import sources has remained about the same.