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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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4 A$ C0 I9 {2 y9 [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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; \3 G, l# k8 o6 oThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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, f1 g8 d* Q/ a/ f6 D4 Z1 ^' v7 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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: z6 }# |2 r. D1 d5 C0 p; U! tThe 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.- }1 [4 X/ Q, i, [! `( o9 y/ `! k1 c
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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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3 h+ J z# f( P' QA 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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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.8 t7 a6 } s; H! s
* h. a j+ I1 I. }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.
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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. x6 _/ ~, f) U3 j# j5 P2 W
6 G$ p3 N7 u | k! YAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.6 N' ? x( W! _6 o/ J5 K
, }% I1 ]# k+ V/ o' Z/ oThe 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.+ i- \# j$ R; ]" I
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.' N' Z( R" Q) ?0 }
; i& P$ l7 I# X: c9 Z3 R6 hHorizon 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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& H9 t( n" U* f/ ~A 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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+ d7 ~! l* G+ b5 wThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.9 R- M. U- `3 W* V& o5 s
0 M4 o) S) j! Q8 o ^' a5 x( fCanadian 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.
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3 V, o( F; n O- U2 Y% e* n& PFires 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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Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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