SINGAPORE, Jan 29 (Reuters) 

* Refineries under state oil and gas major Sinopec Corp are stepping up production of chemicals such as polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), raw materials used for making masks, surgical garments and dripping bottles, following the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Wednesday

* Sinopec’s Maoming refinery in south China is expected to supply the market with 2,500 tonnes of medical-grade PP during the first half of February

* Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Corp is slated to produce a total of 6,600 tonnes of medical-grade PP during the second half of January

* PetroChina’s Dalian Petrochemical Corp earlier this month stepped up PP productions for high-end non-woven materials, used mainly for making masks, with output of the special-grade PP hitting 11,700 tonnes during the first three weeks of January 2020.