The New York Times war on cheap energy was dealt yet another blow yesterday. BHP Billiton, the Australian-based mining giant, agreed to purchase American oil and gas company Petrohawk Energy corporation at a huge premium to its stock price. Petrohawk closed yesterday at $23.49 a share and BHP is sweeping in to buy the company for $38.75 in cash for a total purchase price of $12.1 billion dollars. BHP is buying Petrohawk for its shale gas and oil reserves in Texas and Louisiana. The Wall Street Journal reports: BHP Billiton Ltd. said Thursday it plans to acquire Petrohawk Energy Corp. for more than $12 billion in cash, giving the Anglo-Australian mining company access to large shale assets in Texas and Louisiana in one of the largest deals of the year... The transaction reflects the intensifying interest in shale, a rock formation dense with oil and gas. In recent years, energy companies have found a way economically to extract hydrocarbons from shale by injecting a high-pressure...(Read Full Post)