UPDATE 1-Pickens sees oil holding near or over $100 in 2008

(Updates with details)

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Legendary oil investor T. Boone Pickens, who made more than $1 billion in 2006 by betting on rising oil prices, said he expects oil prices will hold near or above $100 a barrel for the rest of this year.

He added that he made "a mistake" when his fund shorted the energy market at the beginning of this year.

Pickens, who heads the BP Capital hedge fund, told CNBC television he now thinks oil will "hang around" $100 in the second quarter and that "in the second half we'll see above $100" because of strong supply and demand fundamentals.

"I still am a fundamental player and I'm going to play the fundamentals until I'm told there's another way to evaluate the market," he said.

Pickens said global energy demand growth remained strong and that energy companies were having a hard time finding and developing new reserves.

"The major oil companies have peaked on their production. It's awful hard for them to add to their reserves and their production," he said. "The major oil companies are in liquidation."

He added that it would take a deep economic downturn to pull prices back down to some of the lows around $50 a barrel seen early in 2007.

"The only way I could see that happen is a global recession ... a serious global recession," he said. "I don't believe I will ever see $50 oil ever again."