Petrohawk Energy Corporation (NYSE: HK) was an independent energy company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2003, Petrohawk grew rapidly through mergers and acquisitions.

The company was originally known as Beta Oil & Gas until shareholders approved a name change on July 15, 2004.

In November 2004, Petrohawk bought Wynn-Crosby for $425 million, marking its first large acquisition. In July 2005, Petrohawk merged with Mission Resources, nearly doubling in size. One year later, Petrohawk bought KCS Energy for 80 million shares of stock and approximately $900 million in cash. Beginning in 2007, Petrohawk began acquiring acreage in the Haynesville Shale

Haynesville Shale

The Haynesville Shale is an informal, popular name for a rock formation that underlies large parts of southwestern Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and East Texas. It lies depths of 10,500 to 13,000 feet below the land’s surface. It is part of a large rock formation, which is known by geologists as...

, and in 2008 successfully began an extensive, $500 million drilling program.

In 2009, Petrohawk's CEO, Floyd Wilson was considered one of "The TopGun CEOs" by Brendan Wood International, an advisory agency.

On July 15, 2011, BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...

acquired Petrohawk for an all-cash offer of $US38.75 per share.