The greatest resource companies are global in scope in terms of asset diversity, capabilities and capital. Names like ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Sinopec, Rosneft come to mind. Among those ranks is BHP Billiton, one of the 25 largest companies in the world in any industry. Based in Melbourne, Australia, the company's market cap of about $180 billion puts it between Coca-Cola and Royal Dutch Shell.

Its size is based on natural resources: iron ore and coal in Australia, copper in Chile, potash in Canada, oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.

“The scale of BHP's operations is hard to grasp,” say analysts at the Motley Fool's online site. “Last year, it produced 187 million tonnes of iron ore, 236 million barrels of oil equivalent (nearly 30% of BP's current production) and 1.2 million tonnes of copper, along with 111 million tonnes of coal. BHP is also extremely profitable. In the 2012-2013 financial year (ended June 30), BHP sold $20 billion worth of iron ore at a gross profit margin of 55%. Gross profits from petroleum were a healthy 42%, while copper's gross margin was 30%.

“Although the cost of developing new assets is high, this is clearly a business that can withstand lower commodity prices when necessary.”

That's a good thing, as BHP is the largest foreign investor in US shales. Even though it operates in 25 countries, its US shale assets will be an integral part of its growth engine.

So says Timothy J. Cutt, newly appointed president of petroleum and potash for BHP Billiton, based in the company's US headquarters in Houston. He spoke recently to the monthly IPAA/Tipro Leaders in Industry luncheon in Houston.

Cutt joined BHP in 2007. Like his predecessor, Mike Yeager, he came from a career with ExxonMobil. Cutt has lived in Houston before, but also managed the giant Hibernia Field offshore Newfoundland, and worked in Saskatchewan for several years, managing BHP's potash and diamonds business.

Today, petroleum makes up 27% of the company's fiscal-year 2013 EBIT (earnings before income tax), while iron ore extraction is 52%. For several years, BHP has been on a tear with the latter, exporting Australian iron ore to China, where it's turned into steel for infrastructure in China's new mega-cities—buildings, airports, shopping malls, cars. The heated pace of growth is slowing somewhat now, which has dampened BHP's iron ore earnings.

But make no mistake, oil and gas are still hugely important to the company, and it loves its US assets. In fiscal-year 2013, ended June 30, onshore US production rose 15%, with a 75% increase in liquids.

“We're here, we're big, we're excited about it and we want to do more,” Cutt said. “And we're looking for shales around the world. We are not calling [this business segment] North American shale anymore, although US shales will be the biggest part for now.”

The company has a 40-year history in conventional oil and gas, including interests in some of the Gulf of Mexico's largest discoveries (Mad Dog, Atlantis, Shenzi). It produces 650,000 barrels of oil daily worldwide, from conventionals, offshore and shale.

But shale is the new thing. BHP entered the game in a big way in 2011 when it acquired a $4.5-billion interest in Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Haynesville operation. That same year, the mining giant acquired Petrohawk Energy Corp. for $12.1 billion, getting Haynesville and Eagle Ford shale.

Cutt says BHP loves what it has bought, even though low gas prices do skew the economics it had counted on. “Obviously, $3.50 to $4 doesn't do it. We think $5 or $6 is probably what we need, to drill profitably in the Haynesville with these prices.”

While it is not drilling any dry-gas wells in the Haynesville shale currently, it is going great guns in the Eagle Ford, and increasing its liquids production.

“We exited 2012 at 75,000 BOE a day and now we are at 130,000 BOE from the Eagle Ford. And, just in the time since we bought Petrohawk, we've had a 30% reduction in our drilling time, which saves us money. We are running around 20 rigs now and will continue at that rate. Hawkville Field is gas and condensate, but we are really focused on liquids right now.

“We realize that shale is not the same everywhere, and the people who say it is a manufacturing game now cannot really take a manufacturing approach. We will recognize the unique technological differences of the different shale plays.”

BHP has so much going on globally that the competition among divisions for capital is intense, Cutt said, but US shales can compete.

On a larger scale, he says, the company is being transformed these days. New CEO Andrew Mackenzie is changing the focus from volume growth to include more profitability and returns, and he has reorganized the top-level management structure to streamline it. BHP also is boosting its public profile here, including having a new partnership with the Houston Texans and the Houston United Way.