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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.9 s- m7 n6 t5 z. M s& ]& B, V1 ^
. g, \) F6 G) Q* YThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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9 e1 k! G- F" R! X- OOne 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.% M5 w5 o9 _7 k7 F/ ~# |
. ~* q( `% N! ~7 a, G) k+ J3 Y( pThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released." ?5 T: f ^5 ~* [, v3 ~6 `
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.1 z7 p% t% J! @* y+ V) e+ m7 m2 W
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.- n8 e0 j" h4 @9 t* ]& s
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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$ E9 q' e, H! r4 P/ ^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.% N9 F" T" |; h* r+ _3 D& I
3 S% R9 H6 Y1 S2 iAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.* I- d6 N0 K( ?# B
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."3 P f8 z7 [5 [
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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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7 c( T6 p5 W w/ i- r0 `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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4 }0 t. }7 t7 K, z9 h" d- uAir 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.
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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." Q% O9 Y- r3 I) D( n
( D% e! D9 t* k" h9 h, I( A4 FThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.2 X1 W& \1 w& H3 A8 |% i4 d2 y# }
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands./ D. X6 i2 h7 M( t3 b# ?& v
# B' y% H) v A/ {0 lIt 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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+ w6 x# B( J; b ?5 kA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.# g, ` G( ^; x1 p# E
% i% ~2 t2 U' b3 Q) G. C$ |The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.# j9 i) w1 {# {1 }6 _% n& N2 K
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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.6 N5 Q5 ?2 k+ N8 m& Q7 v
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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.
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" _/ C/ w& P3 r$ [4 k. s8 D! z4 MHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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