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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., {. c( f: B. q# q: c2 e5 s$ q
7 t2 z( d" w5 t3 `. {: k5 M& N! POne 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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! k8 a: m7 w' ?7 x/ k' b2 UThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.0 @8 {/ Z8 k7 R: K+ a3 _8 g" I
- e& l) k9 _( Y0 p$ t( M, R"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement., K [. ~; l! F {3 Q/ _
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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* i, X; E+ a1 `; }! k" v1 K cA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."% p6 ~& L- W7 y6 s, ^
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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.1 O$ f- U; y7 D; V- B- n" p
a( `" t& E2 d5 j( W/ HAlberta Environment was notified about the incident./ i+ }1 l$ o1 R* R- b9 R
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."# V5 d, |! x3 g) N
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.2 O/ p: i3 Y$ W \
% K5 Q9 r: p4 cBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.7 N( z8 e& A" b8 ^& e
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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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.# H' c7 }# [* J% g6 H( M
9 d0 }9 Q7 ~7 a9 {) z# ]5 T"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.
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- q3 h: ^/ h; G0 n4 VThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.5 K# E2 ]' k4 m9 ]
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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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.9 f9 Q# o; {. e; Z! O
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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." i! m7 Z! X3 o
) l% @2 K2 \ L+ nThe 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.0 t" H: d3 z, {5 z6 j W; U5 p6 f
$ X/ U, v; {* @5 v: m- ] r2 sFires 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., b" {! S t: y) ?& S2 R2 ]1 `) S
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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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