BASF SE is a German chemical company. It diversifies its activities into five business segments: Chemicals, providing basic products and specialties including nitric acid and methanol, basic chemicals including ethylene and butadiene and intermediates, among others; Performance Products, providing products for the coatings and paints industry, cosmetics, detergents, cleaners industry, vitamins, enzymes, products for the paper industry and performance chemicals, among others; Functional Materials & Solutions that develops coating products, catalysts and construction chemicals, among others; Agricultural Solutions, providing active ingredients and formulations for the improvement of crop health and yields, and Oil & Gas segment (exploration, production and natural gas trade). The segment Plastics (producing engineering plastics, polyamides and polyurethane solutions), divested as of January 1, 2013, is since then incorporated into segments Chemicals and Functional Materials & Solutions.