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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.
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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* j1 X! T& l" n) n) {* S. LOne 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.) d* \" @- |# m' W
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.2 Q2 i2 M( O# v9 k9 L- C8 b2 k7 X: `9 @
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.6 g! s6 w0 J% ], x( G5 K
" \, i# T {7 c4 a% x" l, A8 ?A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."2 W L' T7 |8 P) }* ^3 [9 c
& }/ K; o) F: p8 g- ~) P4 H) 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.$ |! y* q- M( D ?% R
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Alberta 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."2 Q |: m$ e; H
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.8 h [, ~; U$ u
' C/ E% J1 x3 R% [; l* ~* ~% IBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area. K, V" Z- ?" w) Q; J# C& u
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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& D4 @, R6 q$ S0 ^/ \5 u- ?& bThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.8 L ~- n( A5 I. o7 X
. B0 @5 v- r) |" m7 s% I"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.5 z, v! Y. H. ~/ P% H) a
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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$ D. ?6 m# U bIt 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.3 `: Y0 i6 Q4 y: O
. F/ _$ e# v2 T( ?+ S4 X8 PA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.% o& z$ q& v/ z$ Y' F
5 j/ r. i6 A& W1 Z* l4 n# D% R1 NThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.0 K8 V: P( u" w. G, P3 T2 t8 E1 k
; d! @6 ]: M! z5 p3 ACanadian 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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$ G4 i5 E7 W$ ^, Q1 c& m- FFires 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.+ w& ?1 B) { h2 ]
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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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