Sinopec (also known as China Petroleum & Chemical, 中国石油化工股份有限公司) is a petroleum and petrochemical company. It operates through five segments: Exploration and Production, Refining, Marketing and Distribution, Chemicals, and Corporate and Others. The Exploration and Production segment consists of activities related to exploring and developing, producing, and selling crude oil and natural gas. The Refining segment consists of purchasing crude oil from the Exploration and Production segment and from third parties, processing crude oil into refined oil products, and selling refined oil products principally to the Marketing and Distribution segment. The Marketing and Distribution segment specializes in purchasing oil products from the Refining segment and third parties and supplying them to large customers and independent distributors. The Chemicals segment buys chemical feedstock from the Refining segment and produces, markets, sells, and distributes chemical products. The Corporate and Others segment consists principally of trading activities of the import and export subsidiaries and research and development activities.