Welcoming the opening of the new pipeline, Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said: "A further step to secure Britain's energy supplies is put in place today. Travelling more than 230km under the North Sea, today sees BBL delivering commercial gas supplies from the Dutch continental shelf through to homes and businesses across the UK. It will account for some 8% of the UK's annual gas needs and is a feat of considerable engineering achievement. This increases our security of energy supply." With a capacity of 1.75m cum/hr, the new 36-in diameter, 235-km long pipeline (230km of which is offshore) is able to transport approximately 15bn cum/yr, and could therefore supply up to 15% of the UK's gas requirement. The gas that the BBL supplies will come from various shippers who will obtain it from producers in and beyond the Netherlands. Transport successfully started on at 6am this morning. Construction of the BBL has taken just under two years. It has been a challenging project, completed with the help of the latest technology, such as the new electric compressor station in Anna Paulowna, Noord Holland. The pipeline owner and operator, BBL Company is a joint venture between E.ON Ruhrgas, Fluxys, and Nederlandse Gasunie.