Global 500

Known as China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., China’s biggest oil producer and refiner continued to expand by increasing production of crude oil and natural gas. Sinopec’s scale is similar to major multinational oil and gas companies. But unlike its competitors, the state-owned company is more vulnerable to fluctuations in oil price margins because the Chinese government has pressured markets to avoid raising domestic energy prices. To compensate for losses from refining, the company plans to produce 50 million tons of crude overseas annually by 2015.

Nevertheless, the company continues to grow by forming partnerships and buying multinational oil companies worldwide. In one of its biggest acquisitions of 2011, Sinopec purchased Daylight Energy Ltd. in October for $2.1 billion in cash, gaining Canadian oil and shale-gas reserves and adding to the company’s expansion outside of Asia. --N.H.T.