The forecast of refinery's product pattern and the refining process in 2000 and thereafter is conducted. The outline is as follows. According to the long range forecast of energy balance, petroleum is still the most improtant energy resource in Japan, in future. The required total quantity of fuel oil is estimated to be almost the same quantity to the present, and the product pattern of netroleum is estimated to have similar tendency as the present.In short, it is estimated that the percent of gasoline and middle distillate in fuel oil will increase and the percent of heavy oil decrease.As to the refining process, the number of cracking units, especially heavy oil FCC, heavy oil hydrocracking will increase, because they can feed residual oil and can make light oil such as gasoline and middle distillate. On the other hand, the partial oxidation process for heavy oil is estimated to have more important role in future refinery, because it can not only make H2 for hydrocracking and hydrodesulfurizing, but also can consume heaVy oil. The cost of partial oxidation for heavy oil is still high, but it will decrease by technology development.In more distant future, refinery will make progress in such technology fields as follows.(1) Robot; especially, in batch operation, for example, cleaning and inspection of heavy oil tanks, heat exchangers, reactors, etc.(2) Computer;especially, the use of the expert system applied AI technology, for example, for daily refining scheme, daily transportation schedule, plant's operation guide, foreseeing of equipment's trouble, etc.(3) Maintenance; the use of new material, such as ceramics, and the upgrading of existing material, etc.(4) Energy saving; for example, research for high activated catalyst to FCC, hydrocracking, par tial oxidation process etc. to be able to operate in low temperature or in low pressure, and the waste heat recovery from low temperature gas or liquid in refinery, etc.(5) New process; for example, bio-technology for fine chemicals, new separation technique for valuable products, etc.