Oil and gas companies flare or vent enough methane from federal lands each year to supply all the homes in Los Angeles, according to a new report from a left-leaning government watchdog group.
The report from the Bozeman, Mont.-based Western Values Project estimated that the escaped gas could have resulted in $64 million in royalty payments to federal and state taxpayers.
And if the price of natural gas increases over the next decade, as predicted by government analysts, taxpayers could lose out on nearly $800 million from vented or flared methane, the WVP report said. Methane is a key ingredient in natural gas.