 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 2 Y- d, j5 E' \8 @' \5 ]
2 ?% |; x- Q) n4 p4 DFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.- V4 b4 d) D' u
1 v+ h+ e8 ~' x/ A
Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
9 I$ G1 x9 C* U: {% ^/ \
3 N( e6 F& H& p0 B) n4 G# MOne 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.
! s8 W8 K4 C6 P: \! T: J; p# g6 w: K+ v3 B; s
The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.+ s- r% |- j# v9 }( s; _
: A) S- b8 r& Z! m' f# [
"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.* z, n% ]6 s# r+ Y6 M3 E
0 {4 g% G: T. j
Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
( ~; e5 Z2 p! M) P: i0 B2 N1 u5 V2 x
A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary.". @- C; m& N" b0 H: i5 W" Q
( {) B$ _* S$ f: C+ e7 y
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.
1 w! ?0 j) N) u m% X. {0 i& R9 l8 k" O, S5 `
Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
: E- S& v9 z) X' P, k! Q4 U- z( d+ k E: O
Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
9 {6 p! U' m4 E" L0 f
4 C& B5 q) t( @+ n$ e+ I4 sThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.- x4 c# e! P0 J0 A$ F8 R& G w
" i( t+ t0 R* I% B m; |By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.
j+ f. h0 H* w2 Z5 q) s7 ]# h. i$ ]
Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday. K/ e& h# x; { K
. d$ K4 O4 q& ^- }; T Y! A, g8 \9 `
The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
+ o6 [6 H7 a; C; |( Y6 E& e7 _1 L+ ~$ e
"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.
; @4 I0 j* r; I0 \: r
4 \1 p5 |+ g7 F; e# A) D- c! }, lThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.$ r" U5 C! q/ W) o" N7 J
8 ~$ M4 i, [7 `. E9 [$ F
Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
' v& S5 v" P4 \9 @5 R2 \; y. c2 F& [+ b0 \
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.
9 G$ Z1 T) q/ c$ Q: b% K3 @6 A# O j- U1 t
A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.
+ u4 A, i0 T" K' ^- q# _. j( s: T
; D8 c+ b) u& G8 _The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.3 X- x/ `' f2 ?
4 \7 l2 {: N! z, [, D% w" q
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.
' n$ C/ _- S, l0 z) z1 h
) H' y1 x+ L k/ |2 [* a; dFires 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.
% {; z5 Q, N, Y& y d4 T2 F+ m4 e- X6 s: V1 y
Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
|