Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee of Mines and Energy have lauded the successful indigenisation of Ghana National Gas Company.
They pointed out that the indigenisation saved the country more $5,000 monthly being spent on expatriate staff.
The members led by the Vice Chair person, Mr George Mireku Duker MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem, expressed their joy after a day's working visit to the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant to assess the activities of the company and the way forward.
Mr Duker expressed satisfaction about the performance of the processing plant, describing it as a valuable national asset which was solely managed by Ghanaian engineers.
He was equally happy that the company was implementing the local content policy and was up to the task concerning its corporate social responsibility towards the communities in which they operated by providing them with social amenities such as good roads , potable water and schools .
Mr Duker in this regard suggested that part of the revenue accrued from the mining sector should be invested in the CSR activities in the mining communities."I think the good work Ghana gas is doing should be replicated in the mining sector too."
He pointed out that considering what they saw at the plant, there was no way the committee would not assist Ghana gas if they should present any need to the house for support."We believe whatever assistance given to the company would be put to good use".
Mr Duker praised Ghana gas for the successful tie-in and reverse flow of gas which had gone a long to reduce the occurrence of power outages in the country.
Mr Adams Mutawakilu ranking member, also commended the company for putting in place a world class health safety and environment as well as security measures, which had helped the company to record zero accident since its inception.
He said what was happening at Atuabo gas processing plant currently was an indication that Ghanaians, when given a little push could work wonders and commended the management and staff for their hard work.
He also lauded the company for the successes chalked so far and asked that the company be given the needed support to expand it production.
Mr Robert Lartey, Senior Manager in charge of operations, was happy that the select committee visited the plant and pledged that everything would be done to maintain their standards.
He said the plant, which became operational in 2014 and went into commercial production in 2015 has provided lean gas to a number of private companies including; twyford and announced that expansion works on the Prestea enclave was completed and by June this year, lean gas would be supplied to many private companies in that enclave for power generation.
He said by 2024 the company would be expecting raw gas from bigger fields and they were looking forward to expanding from the current production capacity of 150 million standard cubic feet gas to 220mscf per day.
Mr Lartey said internal discussions on the expansion works were being done and when completed it would be put in the public domain.