Independent explorer and producer Linn Energy agreed to buy assets in the Bakken shale and the Permian Basin, in three separate deals, for $434 million, continuing its buying spree for properties rich in oil and natural gas liquids. Natural gas prices were 19 percent lower in the fourth quarter from a year ago, while the price of U.S. benchmark crude oil was up 12 percent. This has pushed companies like Linn, SandRidge Energy , Petrohawk Energy and Petroquest Energy to increase oil and natural gas liquids mix in their total output.
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