Wall Street Journal: Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, despite no prior oil and gas experience, spent months in Caracas building ties and has emerged as an unexpected US entrant in efforts to revive Venezuela's oil sector. Ehrsam's Primavera, co-found

2026-09-11

Wall Street Journal: Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, despite no prior oil and gas experience, spent months in Caracas building ties and has emerged as an unexpected US entrant in efforts to revive Venezuela's oil sector. Ehrsam's Primavera, co-founded earlier this year, signed a production-sharing contract with state oil firm PDVSA last week. President Trump has urged ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Harold Hamm's Continental Resources to commit about $100 billion to restore Venezuelan fields. Eight months after the US captured Venezuela's president Maduro, the major oil companies have largely remained on the sidelines; Primavera is among the few US firms actively participating.