Robert A. Hefner, III
International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Experience
Robert A. Hefner III for over two decades has actively pursued his interest in China in the areas of energy, foreign affairs, and contemporary Chinese art (http://www.chinacollection.com). In 1959, he founded The GHK Company to pioneer deep and ultradeep natural gas exploration and production. During the 1960s through the 1980s, GHK led in the development of technology necessary to successfully drill and produce many of the world's deepest and highest pressure natural gas wells. In the 1970s, Hefner was also a leader in the industry's successful efforts to deregulate the price of natural gas. These technological and political accomplishments subsequently led to the development of vast new domestic deep natural gas resources. In 1997, he discovered one of America's larger onshore natural gas fields. Hefner is a member of the Kennedy School Dean's Councils, is on the Council of Advisors at the National Geographic Society, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of London, and is a Fellow National in the Explorers Club.
