WASHINGTON, D.C.--(Marketwire - April 1, 2011) - At a public hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere yesterday, members of the U.S. House of Representatives heard testimony from policy experts on the "Rising Oil Prices and Dependence on Hostile Regimes: The Urgent Case for Canadian Oil." The hearing, which Representative Connie Mack (R-FL) chaired, highlighted the important economic, energy and national security benefits of the Keystone Pipeline. 

"[F]rom a national and energy security perspective, the importance of Keystone XL to U.S. energy security is fundamental and irrefutable," said the Honorable David L. Goldwyn, President of Goldwyn Global Strategies and former U.S. Department of State Coordinator and Special Envoy for International Energy Affairs. 

Goldwyn further testified to his belief that "permitting Keystone XL is in the U.S. national interest," citing the following reasons:

• Keystone XL will enhance U.S. supply security;
• Keystone XL will provide infrastructure security;
• Economic rents from payments made by U.S. refiners to Canadian suppliers are likely to be recycled back to the U.S. through trade;
• Permitting Keystone XL will create significant employment; and
• Keystone XL will enhance U.S. national security.

"The XL pipeline should be allowed to go forward for energy security, economic security and national security reasons. Energy security is a vital part of national security, and it is a requirement for economic security," testified Paul Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at National Defense University and Adjunct Professor of Security Studies and of Science, Technology and International Affairs at Georgetown University.

The Keystone XL Pipeline is projected to:

• Increase the supply of safe, secure and reliable oil from Canada, a friendly neighbour;
• Spur more than $20 billion in new spending for the American economy;
• Create at least 20,000 high-quality jobs during the pipeline's construction phase;
• Generate $6.5 billion in new personal income for American workers and their families; and
• Stimulate more than $585 million in new state and local taxes in states along the pipeline route.

"[I]t would be a moment of energy security and national security folly to stop this pipeline from being built and operated," testified Professor Sullivan. 

"Immediate approval of TransCanada's Keystone Expansion pipeline is of increasing importance given the declining production in Venezuela and Mexico, extensive volatility in the Middle East, rising oil prices and growing constraints in efficiently moving crude oil to major refining centers in the mid-continent and on the Gulf Coast," testified Lucian Pugliaresi, President, Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. 

Lucian further noted that "TransCanada is expanding Keystone XL's capability by offering Bakken oil producers, located in North Dakota and Montana, a chance to link into the pipeline and send their crude to Gulf Coast refineries for the first time. By increasing transport efficiency and allowing Bakken producers to tap into new Gulf Coast refinery markets, the Keystone XL project will have the added benefit of improving wellhead values for oil production from the Bakken formation. EPRINC estimates that the Keystone expansion would provide net economic benefits from improved efficiencies in both the transportation and processing of crude oil of as much as $600 million annually, in addition to an immediate boost in construction employment."

With more than 50 years' experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and oil pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada's network of wholly owned natural gas pipelines extends more than 60,000 kilometres (37,000 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services with approximately 380 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns, or has interests in, over 10,800 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is developing one of North America's largest oil delivery systems. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. For more information visit: www.transcanada.com.