Sinopec's Better Upstream Earnings Helped to Offset Weaker Downstream Segments

China Petroleum & Chemical, better known as Sinopec, is the listed arm of one of China's two integrated oil majors and one of Asia's largest refiners and chemical companies in terms of revenue. Owing in part to historical legacy, Sinopec’s revenue and assets are more heavily weighted toward its downstream activities, and the company relies on external sources of oil to meet its refining and processing needs. As a result, Sinopec’s earnings are generally less sensitive to oil prices swings than peer PetroChina's, and so it benefits less in a rising oil price environment but is also more stable when prices fall.