ANKARA

Natural gas started flowing to Poland through the new Baltic Pipe pipeline from Norway via Denmark, Polish gas pipeline operator Gaz-System said on Saturday.

Gaz-System said on Twitter that this is a "historic" day for the country's energy sector.

The pipeline which has a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per year, is an important element of the Polish strategy to diversify its energy imports away from Russia.

The flow from Norway along with supplies via LNG terminals is central to Poland's energy security plan.

In April, the nation's access to Russian gas was cut off because it rejected payments in rubles.

The project has been set up in collaboration between the Danish gas and electricity transmission system operator Energinet and the Gaz-System.

The Baltic Pipe consists of five major components, including the North Sea offshore pipeline, an onshore pipeline in Denmark, a compressor station in Denmark, the Baltic Sea offshore pipeline, and Onshore Poland.