Working in the oil and gas industry of any country presupposes a high salary, since this industry brings considerable dividends to its country. The discovery of oil fields in the United Arab Emirates, for example, in record time turned the country from a backward to a prosperous one.
The 3 main stages of oil workers' work:
- Oil production
- Transportation
- Oil refining.
All 3 stages require the participation of petroleum engineers with the appropriate specialization:
- Geological exploration
- Well drilling and workover
- Oil refining
- Transportation by oil pipelines
- Oil transportation by tankers
- Production of petroleum products.

Petroleum products are the property of the country where they are produced in large quantities.
Refined products:
- Fuel
- Plastics
- Asphalt
- Tar
- Kerosene
- Fuel oil
- Petroleum oils
- Paraffin
- Lubricants.
The main challenges facing oil workers:
- Analysis of natural resource reserves
- Selection of cost-effective and safe field development methods
- Choice of mining methods
- Determination of specific production conditions
- Calculation of operating costs
- Reconstruction of the territory after the completion of drilling operations.
Depending on their nature and lifestyle, the petroleum engineer may choose to work in a laboratory, office, or rig. A promising area of application of forces is work on oil pipelines. European universities offer internships at industry-leading oil companies, and university laboratories are equipped with modern equipment.
Specialization in the oil industry can appear after studying for a master's degree if you have a bachelor's degree in engineering, mining, geophysics. A master's degree is a serious argument for future career growth. For graduates of oil departments of universities, the visa is extended for 1.5 years, so that they can look for application of their knowledge in Europe.
Best Petroleum Engineering universities in Europe 2026 - QS World University rankings
| 1 | Imperial College London |
| 2 | Heriot-Watt University |
| 3 | The University of Manchester |
| 4 | University of Surrey |
| 5 | University of Leeds |
| 6 | Politecnico di Torino |
| 7 | Norwegian University of Science And Technology |
| 8 | Alma Mater Studiorum - Universit脿 di Bologna |
| 9 | Aalborg University |
| 10 | University of Copenhagen |
| 11 | National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University |
| 12 | University College Dublin |
| 13 | University of Oslo |
| 14 | AGH University of Krakow |
| 15 | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| 16 | Brunel University of London |
| 17 | Cranfield University |
| 18 | Kazan (Volga region) Federal University |
| 19 | Loughborough University |
| 20 | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| 21 | RUDN University |
| 22 | Saint Petersburg State University |
| 23 | Technische Universit盲t Bergakademie Freiberg |
| 24 | Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) |
| 25 | Universidad Polit茅cnica de Madrid (UPM) |
| 26 | Universidade de Vigo |
| 27 | University of Aberdeen |
| 28 | University of Bergen |
| 29 | University of Liverpool |
| 30 | Ural Federal University - UrFU |
| 31 | Saint-Petersburg Mining University |
| 32 | Novosibirsk State University |
| 33 | Technical University of Crete |
| 34 | University of Coimbra |
| 35 | University of Huddersfield |
| 36 | University of Zagreb |
| 37 | Cracow University of Technology (Politechnika Krakowska) |
| 38 | Universit脿 degli Studi di Perugia |
| 39 | University of Belgrade |
| 40 | University of Bradford |
| 41 | University of Cyprus (UCY) |
| 42 | University of Portsmouth |