Natural resources company adds industry veterans to power its vision for scaling crude oil development in Venezuela

HOUSTON, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Primavera, a natural resources company headquartered in Houston, Texas, and Caracas, Venezuela, announced significant progress as it prepares to take over operations of oil fields in Venezuela pursuant to agreements signed between the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, PdVSA and the company on September 2, 2026, at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas.

As part of the overall effort, Primavera has built out its leadership team with a group of seasoned industry veterans. The company has announced that the operating team in Venezuela will be led by Oscar Quintero, who has joined the company from Occidental Petroleum in Houston, where he was President of its EOR division. Quintero has years of experience overseeing and working across Occidental’s conventional and unconventional asset base, including the Permian Basin. He also has significant operating experience in drilling and field operations across many large conventional assets in Russia, Indonesia, India and the United States during his previous roles at Shell and Hess. Quintero is a native Venezuelan who will be returning to his home country with his family, alongside the many other members of the Venezuelan diaspora who are returning to the country.

“As a native-born Venezuelan who grew up in our U.S. diaspora, I am thrilled to see so many of my compatriots returning home to help uplift our country,” said Primavera co-founder Manuel Iribarren. “Like so many others, including my parents, Oscar was forced to leave Venezuela in pursuit of opportunity elsewhere. Today, he and I and countless others are returning with the hope of helping build a bright future for a country that truly deserves it.” 

Additionally, the company announced the hiring of three senior executives who have worked together as part of the leadership team of Chevron Venezuela. These executives have significant direct experience and relationships within the country and will help the company be better partners with the Ministry, PdVSA and local communities. Mario Gandara joins as Chief Commercial Officer, Jorge Castro joins as SVP of Finance and Business Management, and Ivette Lopez joins the company as VP of Legal and Compliance. All three executives had similar responsibilities during their time with Chevron, where they were part of a leadership team that was uniquely successful in Venezuela over the past two decades. 

Commenting on these developments, Primavera co-founder Dheeraj Verma added, “I have had the pleasure of working with some of the best entrepreneurs and management teams in the energy sector over the past 20 years. There are very few private companies today with this level of international operating experience and management talent. Our emphasis on execution excellence, technology, and responsible development will continue to set us apart as we focus our efforts on building a world-class natural resources company in Venezuela. We care about quickly growing production in partnership with PdVSA and creating hundreds of new jobs in Venezuela and Texas.”

In addition, the company has brought on Troy Finney as VP of Operations, John Grimmer as VP of Engineering and Evaluations, and Michael Jensen as VP of Health, Safety, Security and Environmental Operations. Finney has decades of hands-on operating experience with conventional energy assets across South America. Grimmer has had over 20 years of experience working with various private energy companies in North America in helping them with their operations and engineering success. Jensen is a decorated United States Air Force veteran with over 20 years of service in the special forces. He most recently served on the National Security Council. He brings unique experience and expertise on physical security, as well as other operational functions.

The company plans to move rapidly to scale crude oil development in its fields and will be announcing significant milestones toward that goal in the coming months.

About Primavera

Primavera is a private natural resources company headquartered in Houston, Texas and Caracas, Venezuela. It was founded by Fred Ehrsam, Manuel Iribarren and Dheeraj Verma, all entrepreneurs who have built multiple large companies in the energy and technology sectors over the past 20 years. The company is focused on operational excellence, technology deployment and responsible development across the natural resources value chain in Venezuela. www.pv.com

Media Contact 
Press@pv.com 

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SOURCE Primavera