China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Group, is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Chaoyang District, Beijing.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation operates a publicly traded subsidiary, called Sinopec, listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

The National Development and Reform Commission sets gasoline and diesel prices and the Ministry of Finance collects windfall tax on upstream profits.

[19]: 8  Chinese methods on how to articulate, quantify, and report the sometimes conflicting interests of profit and political policy have evolved during over time.

[20] In February 2007, Saudi Aramco and Exxon signed a deal with Sinopec to revamp the Fujian oil refinery and triple its capacity to 240,000 barrels per day (38,000 m3/d) by 2009.

This facility was planned in alignment with the National Development and Reform Commission's goal of producing more ethylene domestically in order to rely less heavily on foreign imports.

Additionally, the partnership was to include cooperation between the two companies in new materials, smart EV technology, Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS), construction of recreational facilities, as well as the purchase of vehicles.

][44][45] In March 2022, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Sinopec and Aramco to strengthen the already existing ties between the companies and to improve their downstream operations.

[19]: 7 Sinopec has demonstrated a willingness, characteristic Chinese national oil companies, to invest in foreign, often risky, infrastructure.

[5]: 160 [6]: 593–603 [54] Large foreign purchases are particularly notable in the Chinese context because they require approval by the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Council.

[59]: 10–15  Some Chinese observes agree with this assessment and highlight Sinopec's 2005 goal of importing 15 million tons of crude oil for refinement in China.

[60] Sinopec began its partnership with Iran in 2001, and signed a 30 year deal to invest $70 billion in the development of Yadavaran Field in 2004.

[57]: 282 [62] Iran expressed pleasure with the deal and stated the goal of replacing Japan with China as the primary exporter of Iranian oil.

[66] During his African visit, in 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a series of bilateral trade accords with his Gabonese counterpart Omar Bongo, including a "memorandum of agreement aimed at showing the parties' desire to develop exploration, exploitation, refining and export activities of oil products".

One of the three blocks, LT2000, is some 200 kilometers (120 mi) southeast of Gabon's economic hub, Port Gentil, which lies south of the capital, Libreville, on the Atlantic coast.

[72] Beginning in 2012, Chinese banks began large financing agreements with Ecuador to pre-pay for oil procured via Andes Petroleum.

[87][88] The rebels, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), later released the seven abductees and warned foreign companies against working in the area.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao says that China strongly condemns the violent attack carried out by Somalian insurgents on the premises of the oil company Sinopec in Ethiopia.

[100][59]: 10  While largely welcomed by industry, Sinopec's Syncrude stake has raised concerns about the influence the Chinese government may try to exert on Canadian policy makers.

[104][105][59] Chinese observers note that part of Sinopec's motivation for the deal was to bring deep water drilling expertise to China.

[56]: 580  In 2011, Sinopec additionally invested $5.2 billion for a 30 percent stake in the Brazilian unit of Galp Energia SGPS SA which owns the rights to biggest discovered oil reserve in the western hemisphere since 1976.

The project is located in the Kutai Basin and has access to 15 million barrels of crude oil reserve and 700 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

[118]: 165  According to David H. Shinn and academic Joshua Eisenman, the Ethiopian project underscore China's commitment to expanding its import of liquified natural gas from African countries.

Overseas investments at the time amount to 400,000 barrels per day at the Yasref refinery, as well as the $10 billion Amur Gas Chemical Complex in East Siberia.

The Iran and Sudan oil partnerships in particular led to regulatory change by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council to hold Sinopec's leaders personally responsible if risky investments cost the government financially.

[135][136] Primatology professor Christophe Boesch of the US-based environmental organization, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), criticized the use of dynamite and heavy machinery in exploration and road construction by Sinopec through park, noting that it might drive native gorillas deeper into the jungle, where they would be outside legal restrictions on hunting.

[138] On 21 December 2006, gas started leaking during the drilling of a test well by the Sinopec Southern Prospecting and Development Branch in Quingxi.

[139] China's top environmental watchdog warned Sinopec in 2007 to stop operations at one of its oil fields due to chronic river pollution.

[140] Guangdong Provincial Environment Bureau (GPEB) had also issued a red sign warning to 19 companies, including Sinopec Guangzhou, in February 2008.

By GPEB's standard, the companies that have involved in excessive emissions or caused serious environmental pollution accidents will be given the red sign warning and will be placed under strict supervision.