Breakthrough 100% Refining
In Russia, a technology has been developed that makes it possible to increase oil refining depth to 100%. According to experts, the achievement could trigger changes on a global industrial scale.
On the Brink of a Breakthrough
Crucially, the development is entirely domestic and has been implemented using Russian-made equipment. As a result, the operational efficiency of oil refineries could ultimately reach the full 100%.
Refining depth indicates what share of crude oil is ultimately converted into gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and other light products. The heavy residue of the process is fuel oil. Accordingly, pushing refining depth toward 100% is directly tied to production profitability. At the end of 2025, the indicator stood at 84.6% in Russia. There is clear room for competition - several countries have already reached the 90% level. Moving to 100% would mark the beginning of a new technological era.
The announced breakthrough is based on a hydroabrasive coke cutting tool, more specifically, on delayed coking units used to process heavy oil residues. The process is thermal: under high temperatures, crude oil breaks down into gas, gasoline fractions, and solid carbon - petroleum coke.
Until now, coke removal required shutting down equipment and mechanically extracting it from the process. Hydroabrasive cutting uses a high-pressure water jet with an abrasive additive. The technology not only reduces cleaning time but also improves safety and lowers system wear. This creates a technological opportunity to organize a closed-cycle process. In an industry where every shutdown can result in multimillion-dollar losses, the new development is being hailed as a potential breakthrough. The approach fully aligns with the Ministry of Energy’s course toward technological sovereignty and higher efficiency in the oil sector.
High Stakes
To grasp the importance of the development, it is enough to note that even a 5% increase in refining depth would add billions of rubles to the annual revenues of major enterprises. Overall, it would raise sector profitability, reduce the carbon footprint, and cut waste volumes.
This would mean fuel oil production falling to a minimum, with remaining heavy fractions redirected as feedstock for petrochemicals or power generation. Crude oil would be almost entirely converted into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and petrochemical inputs. The main obstacles to adoption are high capital expenditures, the need for workforce training, and the complexity of retrofitting older refineries. Even so, analysts have little doubt that the industry will adopt the technology rapidly.
From Theory to Practice
The first tests have already been completed, and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation is preparing a rollout plan to install hydroabrasive systems at several major refineries.
The technology itself is not entirely new. Hydroabrasive cutting has long been used in aircraft and shipbuilding, where high precision and safety are critical. Delayed coking units first appeared in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, although their productivity was limited. Today, advances in engineering make it possible to deploy the method at full scale with the required efficiency.
Implementation will not happen overnight. Analysts cautiously estimate that by 2030, oil refining depth in Russia could reach 90%, using 2023 as a baseline, when the figure stood at 84.1%. Accordingly, the output of light petroleum products - gasoline, diesel fuel, and aviation kerosene - is expected to increase from 64% to 72%, reliably supplying the domestic market.
Production of AI-95 gasoline is also gradually increasing, which should help saturate the domestic market with high-quality motor fuel and curb price volatility.
Refinery modernization is one of the core objectives of Russia’s energy strategy through 2050. The task of upgrading the refining sector was formulated back in 2021. The modernization program is designed to attract additional investment into Russian refining, with total funding estimated at 800 billion rubles (approximately $9.6 billion). Financing is secured through agreements between refineries and the Ministry of Energy, signed in 2021.
