Robert A. Hefner, III
International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Experience
Robert A. Hefner III is Founder and Owner of GHK Exploration, a private natural gas company headquartered in Oklahoma City. He pioneered ultradeep natural gas exploration and production that led to the development of technology needed to produce many of the world's deepest and highest pressure natural gas wells. In the 1970s, Hefner was a leader in the industry's successful efforts to deregulate natural gas prices. These technological and political accomplishments led to the development of vast new domestic natural gas resources.
Hefner's recent book, The GET (Grand Energy Transition), forecasts the continuing decline of coal and oil and an energy future called The Age of Energy Gases, with America's abundant natural gas as the bridge, along with wind, solar and hydrogen (www.The-GET.com).
For over two decades, Hefner has actively pursued his interest in China in the areas of energy, foreign affairs and contemporary Chinese art, developing the internationally known Hefner Collection of contemporary Chinese art (www.hefnercollection.com). He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of London, a Fellow National in the Explorers Club, and a Director of the American Clean Skies Foundation. He is an Advisory Director of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and established the Hefner Initiative on Energy and National Security there. Hefner and his wife MeiLi initiated the Hefner China Fund, supporting scholars at Harvard's Kennedy School and the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Hefner received his B.S. degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma.
