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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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/ S& F& |) ~" \6 V$ q# ~3 }6 FFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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: P$ H+ W) t2 y* D* {Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.0 P: Y. _7 W) K( b7 D
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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., w% P( \7 j' T
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.7 [2 L x$ ]' n, {
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.: X3 r+ b) y! e+ i; q/ L
6 R4 }# E) U+ MReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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4 R6 s$ b% }( d2 m5 n. k$ q! {A 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.3 J+ m7 g( `$ Z( l3 z x$ m
/ l6 Z) W: H. ]8 pAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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$ f2 ]* s7 L4 T4 `- WChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."7 M" Q7 Z6 E( e' [) x
# ~9 F1 i6 c' D \2 NThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down., d' f H5 J7 D0 c
: M" t8 P$ l0 O0 D9 d+ T' z: BBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.* f. \$ z: G5 n
6 T% J4 D6 C f. {/ ]& pAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.8 r+ m; X9 V8 u& O! ~
/ P& k* @4 X0 K) u l# ZThe 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./ B4 X$ U& Z8 N3 Y0 f7 u @
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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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$ A5 M6 g( O, |* ?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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5 T/ M' x- v# [6 c: i. H& P" BA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.
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, N7 Y' D( k' |+ ]" y. @# wThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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; {3 t0 A. y' _) DCanadian 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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Fires 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., U& n- W/ M% l& Z: B' l
4 N3 X' ]& r! \Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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