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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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4 T' U$ a$ f+ D- u) j- dFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.' \1 L3 M% n6 n4 G. W, u4 d
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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) G2 R( }2 B' D3 A4 KOne 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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1 g# a' o. N5 A4 E1 R1 JThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.* o! j: {( f% w6 M& h/ l! Z
7 R- G e! `2 v" h( ~; LA 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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8 @/ \) j- D( D; w7 N# V+ hAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.- ?8 k- C, r% r
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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.# X4 M) D+ L" {3 G8 Y( N
/ F# b; m; _. o# u( [) yAir 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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, ?9 K- K0 [" i' u/ w"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.7 _, r2 Y( R5 K$ e7 v; l
8 R+ i3 _ ^0 s. AThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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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.
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, X5 b) V! O% n' v7 tA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.$ j; a* t4 G# ~) F$ q
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.1 `% z6 C8 H1 ~
" t- P/ O9 J9 G0 E' J8 T7 UCanadian 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.) F9 L* U0 B/ y7 k
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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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- m( {7 a: H% A0 t! W9 X* }Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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