The history of oil industry in Brazil confuses itself with the creation of Petrobras, in 1953 – company that leveraged the exploration of this natural resource that would become one of the thermometers of the international politics. Consequently, it was the sole responsible for educating professionals in this area.
Due to the industrial development and the construction of highways that linked the main Brazilian cities, the consumption of fossil fuels increased largely in the 1950’s. Until 1968, technicians coming from other countries were gradually replaced by Brazilian technicians who were sent to foreign countries to receive specialized education. Later, Petrobras assumed the qualification of these technicians through associations with Brazilian universities.
In 1997, the monopoly of Petrobras is broken and this promising market becomes open in the entire country. Universidade Gama Filho, always in tune with the current situation of this market, which presents a need for professional demand growth, creates, in 2002, the Undergraduate Course of Oil and Gas Technology.
Currently, the Institution develops in this area and already has the Traditional Oil Engineering Undergraduate Course (established in 2005) and various other Post Graduate courses, such as Oil Engineering and Offshore Systems and SMS Engineering for Oil Industry, for example.
Thus, Universidade Gama Filho has played a significant part, providing qualification courses in the fields of oil and gas, providing the course students with qualification and competences that will allow them to be better positioned in the market.