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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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; c7 w! ?% H/ ~; w" ^8 b$ M1 gFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.. a. B, s9 ^3 ~) b+ t5 h' o
6 b, g$ w9 `( a8 @Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.. d0 u ]- p' N# b9 Q
- F. X) z3 L# \( R' o' j2 ~0 iOne 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.# i: W6 L$ L2 X, ]% C/ I
: r7 H/ B% ]5 s o3 s4 H9 q% c. ^The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.1 X' E4 J: G0 p- d" x" T4 X) ?
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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.0 t- q- S. z: A- k' _! T/ E$ R
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."( d3 d a, a7 |- w6 E3 X& y. {% T/ @
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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.% R! \5 i) K* x$ D. S" B4 [
% z$ T: M( @4 Z, d8 b( EAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.4 _ M; [; L- x5 S3 W, H
7 e5 M& r1 L1 K) A' EChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."8 F, T' z4 [% g* E
" u+ F3 \6 Y2 f2 r- ~$ m z) KThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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8 v4 l8 C6 f) z( P$ Q# lBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area." }" x, i, r: w" r, w1 l
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.* K% ^2 K: ^3 g) o7 y- J
; r+ |. m7 _& ~6 s0 f0 Z* k! `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.
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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g6 _7 i }% {$ `; i% Y9 X0 dHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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' g) G/ }2 U% `9 L# s; ?; {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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A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.9 P$ e1 ^( D. \+ T# n7 a0 i
9 Y7 o% [/ W+ AThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.( p. u" ~- u5 ?" b% r2 Y, B! o
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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.
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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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Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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