Executive
Management 

Manuel Zúñiga is a petroleum engineer with 30 years of industry experience. Mr. Zúñiga was a founder and the President and Chief Executive Officer of BPZ when oil was discovered in the Corvina field of the Z-1 Block, brought online in less than two years using the first floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit ever used in Peru and developed with a buoyant drilling and production platform. Prior to completion of the Arrangement, Mr Zúñiga had been the President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managers of PetroTal LLC since January 2016.

He started his career as a junior engineer with Occidental Petroleum where he worked in Block 1-AB, located in the northern jungle of Peru. He was born and raised in Talara, Peru and has led exploration and development projects for oil and gas in Peru, as well as other countries in Latin America. He has established relationships with operators in Peru, including owners of the targeted assets, and has good relationships with government agencies in the region. Mr. Zúñiga holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Douglas Urch has over 35 years of oil and gas industry experience. Previously, Mr. Urch was the Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Rally Energy Corp. Mr. Urch is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and a designated member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). Mr. Urch has been a Director of PetroTal since inception and was Chairman of the Board from June 2018 until November 2019. Mr. Urch graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Vice President, Exploration and Development
  • Over 35 years of Latin American oil and gas experience with focus on designing and executing exploration and production programs
  • Multiple senior technical and management level roles with Occidental and Repsol
  • Former CEO of CGX Energy
Senior Vice President, Operations
  • Over 25 years experience managing complex oil production and technical operations
  • Various executive roles ranging from guiding international safety, security, and sustainability performance for projects and drilling; ensuring safe and efficient upstream and midstream onshore operations
  • Mr. Contreras holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering and Project Development from the Institut Français du Pétrole

Our team continues to deliver ahead of schedule, which sets the stage for PetroTal to grow for the foreseeable future.

Management and Technical Team with In-depth Expertise and Proven Track Record in Peru