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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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1 n* ]' }2 y4 _+ yFour 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.$ x) i4 Z! X8 F! C
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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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! d2 N5 s8 G2 R% GThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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6 h. a8 Z6 c' z2 M4 A% M"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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/ Q7 L/ G3 z- w& @3 s# A1 YReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."7 ~ ~1 }5 E; q: @3 j0 o
3 J7 W6 K/ K' p* J I6 |3 q/ [) C; iAnd 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.
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- x- T- d0 o2 N% V& ]Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.# \$ p4 m8 E& z+ M
! J- p: s5 y, r2 t- U- M2 ?Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."/ s! `( Q+ O- L _% m, B
, i. w* w8 e9 H% }# {The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.1 z% p7 q7 Q6 _: W& X+ g
9 {/ `2 d8 a/ I+ O% U( sBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.0 j) c2 i# V' u0 P1 C
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday." ?* V- e. W' b$ ^# S6 z+ m
& J2 l, m' ]2 }" oThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume./ }' S, M3 ~7 E y( R
4 R% ^: y7 B% x5 V& T"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.( B5 a& e" @2 Z: R6 H
6 k. T+ f/ a( e" z7 G( H, eThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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5 I0 j0 Y T% Z. w2 XHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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7 {* \ y4 y: z: G2 MIt 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.; b( L E8 n( Z
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A 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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5 O) {1 g }* \( AThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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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.
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0 V2 X( h" Z8 e" {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.* s8 S! y$ D- K5 ?% G) O
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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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