ConocoPhillips is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, meaning it focuses on finding and extracting crude oil and natural gas rather than also running refineries or retail gas stations the way integrated majors like Exxon and Chevron do. Its portfolio spans conventional and shale operations across the United States alongside international assets, giving it geographic diversification within the exploration and production business specifically. Because ConocoPhillips doesn't have downstream refining and marketing operations to smooth out swings in crude prices, its earnings move more directly with the price of oil than an integrated major's do. The company has grown partly through acquisitions of other independent producers, consolidating shale acreage in some of the most productive basins in North America.