The article analyses problems of processing black oil fuel and addresses the possibility of increasing the depth of oil refining by a new processing scheme. The study examines various methods of increasing the depth of oil refining reveals their inadequacies and highlights a need to introduce a new method of processing atmospheric and vacuum residues by initiation a reaction of cracking by ambient oxygen. We identify the main physical and chemical parameters of source materials and reaction products. We used a continuous flow reactor with an active volume of 1,5 liters and a continuous supply of oxygen which allowed us to process up to 3 kg of feedstock per hour at temperatures of up to 5000? and pressure up to 10 atm. The conducted experiments using initiated cracking showed the possibility of a substantial increase the yield of light fractions (up to 50-70%), which is substantially higher than yield of these products on existing installations of thermal cracking. On the basis of experimental data we propose creating an industrial installation which would allow to considerably increase the depth of oil refining without significantly changing the existent technology while also preserving the flexibility and the cost-effectiveness of the process.