Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, named after academician Ivan Gubkin and based in Moscow, is Russia's premier higher education institution for the oil and gas sector. Founded in 1930 from the Moscow Mining Academy's petroleum faculty, the University has trained over 100,000 alumni - including more than 5,000 international graduates from over 100 countries - many of whom hold senior positions in global oil and gas firms. Gubkin has been granted National Research University status by the Russian government and maintains cooperation agreements with around 50 foreign universities and major oil and gas companies including BP, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Total, Sinopec and PetroVietnam. The University is the base institution for the Russian petroleum education system.

The Gubkin University branch in Atyrau opened in 2022 and operates jointly with the Atyrau Oil and Gas University (rebranded as Utebayev University). Atyrau is Kazakhstan's most important oil city, located at the mouth of the Ural River on the northern Caspian Sea, and serves as the operational headquarters of much of the country's hydrocarbon industry. The branch focuses on the upstream and midstream petroleum engineering disciplines that align with Russia and Kazakhstan's combined oil and gas expertise. Programmes are designed alongside Utebayev University faculty and Russian-Kazakh joint research partnerships, with industry placements at major operators including the Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak fields. Joint programmes also exist with Tyumen Industrial University and Louisiana State University, USA, providing additional international study options.

Atyrau, on the northern Caspian Sea coast at the mouth of the Ural River, is the centre of Kazakhstan's oil and gas industry, home to the operational hubs of the Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak super-projects. The city of around 350,000 has a strong international community of energy-sector expatriates and a developing student culture around the Utebayev University campus. The river divides the city - and symbolically, Asia from Europe. Students benefit from direct industry exposure with major oil and gas operators, with frequent guest lectures, internships and placement opportunities. Cost of living is low relative to Astana or Almaty, and Atyrau is a strategic launchpad for careers in Caspian and Central Asian energy.