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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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6 G, z5 h# u+ b/ S4 wFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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9 C7 n" ?7 Z# @3 q2 i% U+ vThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.+ U+ l9 q+ M, Q6 W3 Y/ A6 N
8 I( T) U; z) f+ f9 s( N! t9 D2 w5 x( gOne 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.% T3 G/ g1 h/ f! c$ g; o" h
, X L5 _- ~1 uThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released., @9 {8 K% P: ]0 D" y6 P" [
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement., n/ c1 o' `( S& z
% l+ m) |$ q( o9 o" uReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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6 x' U, l# O# F* X& d" UA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary.") X% b0 F: y6 y) z( }4 s( O5 U& I$ [! I
: e5 N K O) c% N* d7 PAnd 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.( B% c* I5 D4 Z/ d
, T) T2 ?, n2 U2 o6 qAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.8 n0 M8 ^. }# x& X/ Q, Q+ P" x& d
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."* V% g9 p0 o2 p& b8 O1 S
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.6 W6 f. V9 @3 W: Y% H, W, X* d
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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.) m1 A% j) F9 j R- W
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.8 \* i" g4 e$ K: b6 n
3 S0 A. |) I: j3 l8 u! L( |The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.$ i* r. ?9 p9 V) f* t* O
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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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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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, U* V z, h+ T# L! l* \8 pIt 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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$ I% ]5 N$ v3 E0 mA 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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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.6 D- A% U) S z ^9 l' o7 h( s
5 Q% G0 C+ w1 {3 ICanadian 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.! [1 t4 E) j1 {# d6 U6 |3 I$ H
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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.5 V, m; V g$ m9 i$ t' g0 W" |
% N M; I1 p' L( KHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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