 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
|
显示全部楼层
2# 爱城四少 4 ?9 N: [# K6 p
" p* i# s9 Y1 C6 \. Q+ j* @3 u, GFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
4 {# Z$ Z3 T+ ]8 U' o. ~$ G! `' N% `4 }$ D
Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.- J' P* e: q6 T7 R1 Z) P
/ _& l9 H1 u- c, C
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.5 v0 ]. }, p% S O# ]- ]
9 o% M( K3 d+ H: Y+ u9 ~ h
The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
% x) x' F! P9 V( N# U7 `8 W+ S8 c) D X3 R# y" k, W) V* T
"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement., X1 S5 p1 R/ c2 x) P! {; [
* M6 c# C" K) r" u+ ]7 z. U7 GReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
1 N/ z. t4 o& r& I$ [# b& \
$ Y. A5 Y/ \, sA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."' o% C5 t) F2 K# O. i4 G
( N5 C1 E+ E0 v4 ?" W& u7 EAnd 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.0 U. [- {0 ~% y- R* @( I1 S& C
4 O% X8 n4 N7 q' z2 LAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
1 ~. M: [3 K0 T0 z @2 d* O5 S- S( I: J
Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage.". u/ C0 d8 l r: _1 c, _
^3 ~' j9 r3 m, c0 o
The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.. T8 ^( V; I1 d
8 M% p, d! N' ^! e& U
By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.
& Z' O& ]( Y+ U
' q- ]9 K6 D0 N: `Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
: _$ z2 L. D8 G+ K/ {
$ I6 F* C0 m0 Q1 {! gThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
4 i2 R6 G- U# }5 L8 M8 x* ], w* t. y1 r0 U* k
"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.9 D* V' S/ V4 O. F9 N8 e
% U) m3 t! B% r& @$ a& A
The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
# F' B2 E8 a9 |) _3 V- r0 c. w' r( O9 _: o" J) A6 T8 `
Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
& U, B" |0 {# v8 F- {3 t N9 b8 B- D
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.4 R/ m; @) T$ D; f( d5 E; j
1 z8 r. y2 u& E# C- p
A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.8 G) U, _! x: i" |' W3 t
6 S2 O' r5 x1 }, u5 F5 W4 e, J+ O
The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.5 v' @9 F' o4 {) n& I0 k2 E
& A' O& k/ O |: W. i {, r# 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.
- y6 i4 T8 O! p q3 P; I' @' g3 u
+ m9 g- T( O/ z( t" _9 q0 J" _( JFires 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.
: r! ?0 }: j0 n+ V; A8 H- ?! }( s0 x
Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
|