The oil refining sector in Russia entered the 21(st) century lagging far behind the highly developed countries with respect to the degree of refining of crude oil and saturation of refineries with secondary processes. The decrease in the innovative scientific potential in the sector is due to a reduction in state financing for development of research on creation of high-tech technologies, including basic and applied science. This in turn led to orientation of the Russian petroleum complex toward foreign technologies. The current level of saturation of refineries with secondary processes that make refining more exhaustive and the prospects for the evolution of the sector in the first decade of the 21(st) century are examined here.