From the creation of the School of Ouro Preto in 1875 is that the teaching of geosciences in the country begins to be practiced systematically. Although formally titled as mining engineers, many in fact acted as geologists before the existence of a specific course of Geology. However, only in 1950, with industrialization started in the Vargas government, especially with the creation of Petrobras (1953), is that the training of geologists has become a matter of state and need. Petrobras started its activities from the collection received from the former National Petroleum Council (Conselho Nacional do Petróleo – CNP - 1938), aiming to perform tasks in the field of oil exploration in Brazil. Yet, some characteristics of CNP remained in the company, particularly in relation to political pressure and nationalist who sought to consolidate Brazil as a country rich in oil. A major problem was the lack of qualified personnel for the demands of technical and geological knowledge about the Brazilian territory. Thus, Petrobras has invested in developing courses and technical expertise of professionals in the area. Besides Petrobras, other scientific societies of that period, and agreements with universities, contributed to the formation and constitution of Geosciences in Brazil in another level of institutionalization and professionalization. This project aims to investigate and understand the role of Petrobras in the construction and training courses in Geosciences, as part of the process of mapping the territory, and deepening of other areas of Geosciences which contributed to the studies and research related to work developed by Petrobras. The main source of this research focuses on two collections: the personal files of paleontologists Frederico Waldemar Lange (1911-1988) and Roberto Ferreira Daemon (1936-1996) available for inspection at the State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG).

This presentation is based on work co-authored by Silvia Fernanda de Mendonça Figueirôa.