Arbusto Energy

Arbusto Energy was organized in 1977, but did not begin operations until after Bush's unsuccessful 1978 run for Representative from Texas's 19th congressional district. In March 1979, the company began raising funds for oil exploration through private offerings. In April 1982, Bush decided to begin offering public drilling partnerships, but had difficulty raising subscriptions. A change in the company name to Bush Exploration brought no improvement. With little success in its drilling program, the company merged with Spectrum 7 Energy Corp. in February 1984, with Bush holding the positions of Chairman and CEO. In 1986, a rapid fall in oil prices made investment in oil exploration unattractive, and put the company in financial difficulties. Spectrum 7 began looking for partners or purchasers, and in September of that year it was acquired by Harken Energy through a stock swap, with Bush joining the Harken board of directors.

From 1981–1986 the chief financial officer of Arbusto Energy was Mike Conaway. Conaway served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 11th congressional district from 2005–2021.