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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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; Z% t! R! U0 G" k) }4 e& t2 dFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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6 p r3 d& K' ]" {( SThree 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.! x; D7 `1 N g6 i2 A+ O
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.) ^" o+ d/ L7 I, h" F
0 s; ] ]' _# Z& f2 A' |"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.! _8 p M$ n( w. W ?
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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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+ W" P9 Z" [2 T8 j& b1 u* [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.
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1 q- u# Q5 j5 e0 h3 qAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.* r+ {2 n+ _* o4 I$ u' u( L
, f6 G3 s7 N- Y" b( w% r& Q2 VChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."3 ~! q6 w8 A) {
/ {3 J0 M/ O, Q2 QThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.
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0 q& \6 i2 X- V4 jAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.: ~; S$ |, t+ M7 x1 D4 Z/ W
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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.: T" }% V# X C' A4 e
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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.( L8 X( }4 n2 X/ i# C- p! u
- r7 f" }5 }) ~7 wThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.4 x& M5 Q, W. W6 T/ z) F2 ~
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.6 h" V" B5 ^, k, V2 k
% v- `# |: g/ F# M3 L/ P* `5 EIt 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.* s# G* q) n2 O9 K9 A. w
5 P& Z& r" `7 N3 k' r$ mA 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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1 z4 u1 t- M) U/ T# M- `2 gThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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6 F1 d% ^5 Y4 {. }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.' e, n2 W8 G- u* Q2 A v& u
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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.0 \/ L& O) S$ H" g: ]( I5 M! v6 W
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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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