# HKN, Inc.

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{{Short description|American oil and gas company}}
{{Infobox company
| name          = HKN, Inc.
| logo          = 180px|HKN, Inc.
| type          = [Public company](/source/Public_company)
| traded_as     = 
| industry      = [Petroleum industry](/source/Petroleum_industry)
| founded       = {{Start date and age|1973}}
| location      = [Southlake, Texas](/source/Southlake%2C_Texas), United States
| key_people    = {{nowrap| Alan G. Quasha, [Chairman](/source/Chairman)<br>Mikel D. Faulkner, [CEO](/source/CEO)<br>Kristina M. Humphries, [CFO](/source/CFO)}}
| products      = [Petroleum](/source/Petroleum)<br>[Natural gas](/source/Natural_gas)
| revenue       = {{decrease}} $385 thousand (2016)
| net_income    = {{decrease}} -$7 million (2016)
| assets        = {{decrease}} $11 million (2016)
| equity        = {{decrease}} $11 million (2016)
| num_employees = 18
| website       = {{URL|http://www.hkninc.com/}}
| footnotes     = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://backend.otcmarkets.com/otcapi/company/financial-report/166916/content | title=Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and Financial Statements and Accompanying Notes for the Years Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 | access-date=March 3, 2018 | archive-date=March 4, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172820/https://backend.otcmarkets.com/otcapi/company/financial-report/166916/content | url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
'''HKN, Inc.''' is a company engaged in [hydrocarbon exploration](/source/hydrocarbon_exploration)  headquartered in [Southlake, Texas](/source/Southlake%2C_Texas). It is notable for the [Harken Energy scandal](/source/Harken_Energy_scandal), which involved allegations of [insider trading](/source/insider_trading) by [George W. Bush](/source/George_W._Bush) in 1990.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0207/S00104.htm | title=UQ Wire: Harken Energy - George W's Perfect Storm | work=[Scoop](/source/Scoop_(website)) | date=July 15, 2002}}</ref> The company was known as '''Harken Energy Corporation''' until 2007.

==History==
In 1973, the company was founded as an unprofitable collection of Texas [oil well](/source/oil_well)s for investors seeking tax [write-off](/source/write-off)s.<ref name=chron>{{cite news | url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0210/S00178.htm | title=Harken Energy Chronology | work=[Scoop](/source/Scoop_(website)) | date=October 25, 2002}}</ref>

In 1986, the company acquired [Spectrum 7](/source/Spectrum_7) for 200,000 shares from George W. Bush.<ref name=chron/> After the sale of his company, Bush served on the [board of directors](/source/board_of_directors) of the company and received $80,000-$100,000 per year in consulting fees. Bush remained on the board through 1993.<ref name=chron/>

In 1987, [Talat Othman](/source/Talat_Othman) joined the board of the company and served as the chair of the Audit Committee.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1026171349507350200 | title=How Oil Firm Linked to a Son Of Bush Won Big Drilling Pact | first1=Thomas | last1=Petzinger Jr. | first2=Peter | last2=Truell | first3=Jill | last3=Abramson | work=[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal) | date=December 6, 1991 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1987, Bush obtained a critical $25 million loan from a [BCCI](/source/Bank_of_Credit_and_Commerce_International) joint venture.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sirota |first1=David |last2=Baskin |first2=Jonathan |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.sirota.html |title=Follow the Money: How John Kerry busted the terrorists' favorite bank. |work=[Washington Monthly](/source/Washington_Monthly) |date=September 2004 |access-date=1 April 2022 |archive-date=22 August 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040822032245/https://washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.sirota.html}}</ref>

In 1989, the company's subsidiary [Aloha Petroleum](/source/Aloha_Petroleum) was sold to company insiders for $12 million, most of which was borrowed from Harken. The sale of the subsidiary for an exorbitant price helped the company show a profit that year and disguise losses, a similar technique used by [Enron](/source/Enron) that led to the [Enron scandal](/source/Enron_scandal).<ref name=chron/>

In September 1989, the company made an offer to acquire [Tesoro Petroleum](/source/Tesoro_Petroleum).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/08/business/company-news-tesoro-studying-offer-from-harken.html | title=Tesoro Studying Offer from Harken | work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) | date=September 8, 1989 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The offer was withdrawn in February 1990.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/28/business/company-news-harken-withdraws-offer-for-tesoro.html | title=Harken Withdraws Offer for Tesoro | work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) | date=February 28, 1990 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 2007, the company changed its name to HKN, Inc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harken Energy To Change Name |url=https://www.hartenergy.com/news/harken-energy-change-name-33953/ |access-date=2025-09-25 |website=www.hartenergy.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harken Energy Corp. changed its name to HKN Inc. and now trades on the American Stock Exchange as HKN. |url=https://www.hartenergy.com/news/harken-energy-corp-changed-its-name-hkn-inc-and-now-trades-american-stock-exchange-hkn-35278/ |access-date=2025-09-25 |website=www.hartenergy.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Controversies==
===Insider trading allegations===
{{Main|Harken Energy scandal}}
{{See also|George W. Bush, business and early political career|George W. Bush insider trading allegations}}

Harken attracted attention because of the role played in its affairs during the 1980s by George W. Bush, later the [President of the United States](/source/President_of_the_United_States). On June 22, 1990, while he was a member of the company's board of directors, Bush sold stock in Harken shortly before the company announced substantial losses.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/bush/story/0,7369,752706,00.html | title=Bush and Harken Energy | first=Mark | last=Tran | work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) | date=July 10, 2002}}</ref> This transaction resulted in a [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission](/source/U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission) investigation of probable [insider trading](/source/insider_trading).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-07-16 |title=Bush Sold Stock Despite Promise - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bush-sold-stock-despite-promise/ |access-date=2025-09-25 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

A transaction associated with the [financial endowment](/source/financial_endowment) of [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) was also investigated.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1034111592892893796 | title=Harvard Was Unlikely Savior Of Bush Energy Firm Harken | first=Glenn R. | last=Simpson | work=[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal) | date=October 9, 2002 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Exploration offshore Costa Rica===
In 2000, a subsidiary of the company received a 20-year concession to exploit resources offshore [Costa Rica](/source/Costa_Rica). After pressure from indigenous tribes and environmentalists, operating as [Acción de Lucha Anti-Petrola](/source/Acci%C3%B3n_de_Lucha_Anti-Petrola), the government instituted a moratorium on exploration. In September 2003, the company filed a dispute seeking $57 billion from the government of Costa Rica for lost earnings. The lawsuit was thrown out of court and the concession was revoked.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://ticotimes.net/2004/10/15/high-court-rejects-oil-company-case | title=High Court Rejects Oil Company Case | first=Steven J. | last=Barry | work=[The Tico Times](/source/The_Tico_Times) | date=October 15, 2004}}</ref>

=== Drone strikes in Iraq ===
In July 2025, the Sarang oil field in Iraq's Kurdish region, operated by HKN Energy, was targeted by drone strikes. The attacks came days after HKN signed a new investment deal with the Iraqi Government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=2025-07-18 |title=Drone strikes target oil fields in Iraq's Kurdish region |url=https://www.africanews.com/2025/07/18/drone-strikes-target-oil-fields-in-iraqs-kurdish-region/ |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=Africanews |language=en}}</ref> On 1 April 2026, the Sarsang oilfield was again targeted by drone strikes amid [regional tensions during the Iran conflict](/source/2026_Iranian_strikes_on_the_Kurdistan_Region), causing damage to energy infrastructure and disrupting operations at the site.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/breaking-drone-attack-targets-sarsang-oilfield-in-northern-iraq/ |title=Breaking: Drone attack targets Sarsang oilfield in northern Iraq |website=Iraqi News |date=April 1, 2026 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hkn, Inc.}}
Category:Oil companies of the United States
Category:Petroleum in Texas
Category:Companies based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Category:Tarrant County, Texas
Category:Non-renewable resource companies established in 1973
Category:Energy companies established in 1973
Category:1973 establishments in Texas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HKN, Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HKN%2C_Inc.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HKN%2C_Inc.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.