{{Short description|American oil and gas company}} {{Infobox company | name = HKN, Inc. | logo = 180px|HKN, Inc. | type = Public company | traded_as = | industry = Petroleum industry | founded = {{Start date and age|1973}} | location = Southlake, Texas, United States | key_people = {{nowrap| Alan G. Quasha, Chairman<br>Mikel D. Faulkner, CEO<br>Kristina M. Humphries, CFO}} | products = Petroleum<br>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 headquartered in Southlake, Texas. It is notable for the Harken Energy scandal, which involved allegations of insider trading by 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 | 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 wells for investors seeking tax write-offs.<ref name=chron>{{cite news | url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0210/S00178.htm | title=Harken Energy Chronology | work=Scoop | date=October 25, 2002}}</ref>

In 1986, the company acquired 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 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 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 | date=December 6, 1991 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1987, Bush obtained a critical $25 million loan from a BCCI 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 |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 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 that led to the Enron scandal.<ref name=chron/>

In September 1989, the company made an offer to acquire 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 | 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 | 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. 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 | date=July 10, 2002}}</ref> This transaction resulted in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of probable 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 of 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 | 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. After pressure from indigenous tribes and environmentalists, operating as Acción 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 | 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, 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