Durven studied Law at Leiden University where he graduated on 19 July 1702.

After his appointment in 1720 to the Council of the Indies, he was sent, in 1722 and 1723, to supervise the gold- and silver-mines in Parang province.

Subsequently, he became (in 1723) chairman of the College van Heemraden (i.e. drainage board, comparable to a polder board in the Dutch Republic), which was responsible for the management of land outside the city, including supervision of boundaries.

He later become President of the Council of Justice - the supreme court of Dutch Asia.

This did not last long, as the Directors of the East India Company were very impatient of the speed of change there.