MELBOURNE -(Dow Jones)- Average oil and natural gas production at BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) newly acquired Petrohawk Energy Corp. rose 46% in the first nine months of the year to 940 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent a day, the U.S. shale company said Monday. Petrohawk in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it was involved in drilling 353 wells during the period, of which all but one were successful, and it is on track to exceed its 2011 capital budget of US$2.85 billion with BHP expected to fund any shortfall in spending. BHP completed the US$12.1 billion acquisition of Petrohawk in August, its second venture into the U.S. shale industry after it bought Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s (CHK) Fayetteville holdings in Arkansas and some pipeline assets for $4.75 billion in February. J. Michael Yeager, chief executive officer of BHP's petroleum unit, last month said the resources giant expects to quadruple onshore U.S. shale output to about 1 million barrels of oil equivalent a day by financial 2020 from an estimated 250,000 this financial year. BHP has said shale gas is forecast to contribute half of U.S. gas supplies by 2020. -By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 3 9292 2094; robb.stewart@dowjones.com
