BEIJING -- China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), China's largest oil refiner, started to provide free natural gas Tuesday for Leishenshan hospital, one of the makeshift hospitals for novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan.

The gas supply for the hospital is expected to reach 500 to 800 cubic meters per day, mainly for daily gas usage, said Sinopec.

The company has been providing nearly 5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day for the hardest hit Hubei Province, of which 2.6 million cubic meters are supplied for Wuhan, capital of Hubei and the center of the epidemic.

Meanwhile, Sinopec will follow the natural gas demand of the enterprises which produce medical materials, drugs and emergency supplies for the affected areas.