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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.8 W* @1 V2 c0 T4 W( I
) M; q! ^' u- w$ A% ^% ~$ ~2 hThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.0 j4 k, X# ]1 }0 `
/ \0 f, F# d' e: gOne worker was being treated for second and third-degree burns, the most serious types. A second suffered first-degree burns, and a third person had a neck injury.+ Q3 J1 e; ~/ U1 Q$ \3 @
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.: k6 k4 c% x+ O1 _( _# U
4 K+ `6 D0 A. g4 H"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement., D4 ?3 h4 X6 I1 ]7 ~8 M
4 i( g# w ^$ Q7 uReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.& J5 j- t0 I5 x! @8 |+ ~0 J g7 a
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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5 _/ i/ E, G; ?6 nAnd a man whose wife works at the plant was concerned for her safety. "It is a ball of fire," said the man, who would not be named.0 m! r- X8 Y0 Z- O9 M4 b/ B8 W
6 W0 E* z6 s# t& F* J/ \) z6 v- S8 BAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.. U, W/ Y5 Q: k- Q
) c4 F& T n6 ?Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.: U( d+ U4 `8 j/ l/ r
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The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.$ w T, S y; d# {% G
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"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.9 Q( S7 S. D# ]
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.( F4 p8 M; o. _' f1 B- c
: N: ]" x! Z4 E+ F) s2 w" J! a) {Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.( h. {6 }# v+ B: C3 ]
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It is impossible to gauge the impact on the company -- or how the incident might affect multibillion-dollar expansion plans for Horizon -- until the extent of the damage is known, said Michael Dunn, an analyst with FirstEnergy Capital Corp.
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% G' }0 q2 d+ v# X. LA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.! z; e L* s# A$ Z, p
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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# k! C. |7 s/ L; F9 t! C2 GCanadian Natural, Canada's No. 1 independent oil producer, said earlier Thursday that Horizon's output averaged 83,700 barrels per day in December, down 22% from November, as it shut down the upgrader's coker unit for repairs. The company said it had restarted the unit.
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& G/ B. N+ n1 [% b; D! m. LFires in the complex upgraders have been relatively frequent. Production at Suncor Energy Inc.'s oilsands project was hobbled when a fire broke out at one of its two upgraders in December 2009. A second unit was damaged in another blaze last February.7 a& e8 j$ `$ _
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Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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