Research conducted at the Institute of European Heritage focuses not so much on the history of the oil industry in Western and Eastern Galicia, but rather on the people who shaped it, taking into account knowledge transfer, processes of modernisation, and the impact of the oil industry on both high culture and popular culture. The phenomenon is examined in the context of broader civilisational processes in Central Europe, as well as from the perspective of the current energy crisis and the impact of fossil fuels on the natural environment.

Researchers take into account Polish, Ukrainian, Austrian and Jewish perspectives, as well as a broader temporal and geographical horizon, including the interwar period and the role of Polish expertise in oil exploration in Baku, as well as the migration of specialists from that region to Poland following the Russian Civil War.

Archival research is currently being conducted at the National Archives in Kraków, as well as in museum institutions and private collections. The research project will culminate in an international conference, a book publication, and a narrative-object exhibition at the ICC Gallery in spring 2027.