231. Production drilling and extraction of methane from boreholes.
(1)While drilling for exploration or extraction of methane through boreholes, all precautions and arrangements shall be made to ensure that no frictional or open spark occurs inside the borehole-containing methane gas or likely to contain methane which may cause explosion or blow out in the borehole.(2)At the start of each degasification hole, necessary arrangements shall be made to control the release of the methane through the degasification hole.(3)Arrangement shall always be made and kept functional to ensure that there is no leakage of gas from the borehole.(4)Automatic gas and leakage detectors fitted With audio-visual a1arrn shall be provided at the collar of the borehole to ensure that the borehole is kept leakage proof and no inflammable gas or any other noxious gas leaks out of the borehole into the atmosphere.(5)In addition to the automatic detector mentioned in sub-regulation (4), hand held portable detector shall also be used to detect leakage and inflammable or noxious gases coming out of the borehole.(6)A competent person shall check for the leakage of inflammable or noxious gases using hand held gas detector at regular interval during the shift and a record thereof shall be maintained in a bound paged book kept for the purpose.(7)Gas and leakage detection book required to be kept under this regulation, sha11 be checked by the engineer in-charge of the borehole and shall be signed and dated by the assistant manager in each shift which shall be countersigned and dated by the manager.
