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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.# k3 R* L0 g2 ?" @
1 `0 ^: P/ [8 x* r8 E4 OThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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One 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.
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/ o! k5 @ E1 v. ]' ] HThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.* H; Y6 p, d( B, W. P# E
; g1 d* N: q A. d8 Z, t2 MReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.( n+ p4 f9 ]3 _/ I. W. B; I* w. u
0 S6 h$ r* Y! VA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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And 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 v; b& W v# [, R1 j( a& g
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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7 b- @/ o, g2 J* C& MChris 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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3 s8 p% O; e* r3 J7 z: p3 dBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area., X# s8 o( C; e1 F' T/ M! B0 C
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.. b6 N9 D# T4 o! u, Y6 L2 r8 j& d
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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.
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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.8 Q. j0 U- e' n
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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.$ }4 J' b! i G' b. k0 s
# a6 b: O6 w) g! V* O% kIt 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# e X+ zA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.6 T! s; h( A! T1 H- S- F1 F. d
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.: _- B0 R! w8 p c9 a0 f) Y9 e
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Canadian 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.; {0 ~( w# g; a' a4 w" _. C
' X+ u3 w( L' D' U6 j$ kFires 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.
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! K7 M5 ^9 U' o: J% S. }Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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