The new Interconnector gas pipeline linking the UK and Belgium is being officially inaugurated today.
This ceremony will be conducted by the Duke of Edinburgh at Bacton in eastern England. Running from there to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, the line provides the first direct connection between British and continental gas markets.
The inauguration of a facility described as one of the most important European gas infrastructure projects of recent years will also be celebrated in Zeebrugge.
With the capacity to pipe 20 billion cubic metres of British gas annually, the new line can also carry 8.4 billion cubic metres per year in the opposite direction.
It has been technically possible to transport gas through the Interconnector since 1 October.