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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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2# 爱城四少
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" s- P! [4 z6 h# k( t- W9 jFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.( D x7 G) f2 u9 A2 n; Z4 u4 a$ N5 H
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.- v! _' g+ `: D8 u1 [" Y8 u
% K+ K0 T4 R& |# eOne 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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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.' u* X$ J+ k/ Q* H1 L/ m
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.( x: {+ K4 ], Z; N, m5 Z' [
8 b4 o2 r: a( KReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."+ G. y' m" f5 B9 U6 Z h! r$ G
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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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0 c. v% A! T5 s! Z& m& i3 SAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.& b5 g9 [! E+ t9 \/ S% `9 O) N* ^! ?3 [
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage.", D. g1 ~2 R7 j* q8 K
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.; y2 ~1 _# N) i: L4 n3 s
/ Y. {( ]6 a6 q" f5 vBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.7 X2 b3 j: J, g' C3 s- O2 N
% A1 O5 Y" V) L Q+ x$ O" PAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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/ Y8 M6 n1 V' rThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume./ ^% x6 w' ~3 @" X
9 R8 t1 v% [- @. _) a& t; w4 y"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.# o% I$ J7 E, y( t! p
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.% U& t9 g$ Y& `) I* U
+ p5 s/ l# {& M1 \' Y. a6 \+ ZHorizon 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., m0 S# o i; `; v; d* @
; _3 b+ C. V) s" `/ _A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.% D2 p& {. C3 ?& |
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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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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4 K, d5 v3 w6 S( m) B/ v/ [4 k" NHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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