 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 + g9 ]' |5 s j( [/ l& B
# M( k2 v Y2 mFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.1 X7 o+ s& v7 E/ ]) Q5 l* M
* V( S7 ~; F- L. ~0 M
Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition. e) J" \& m" i, U/ N1 ]
0 l+ e$ t% X* v# U8 r t3 f9 b
One 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.
1 @+ e5 D+ l' J0 m. H. Z/ `; f [$ q6 ^3 r+ R" a6 h$ W: c& h
The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.- s! h4 N) Q3 u. K6 s4 w3 f
3 R1 Q- P/ y3 Q"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
# Q, D2 w# R, p. u; c. q9 h% r' C$ {* h( T; Q7 r
Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
o( m$ Z6 b/ f/ D: S
& U' Y1 s( H" u) A8 [5 A' u2 IA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."/ V8 Y) I. g3 [0 l
1 ^ u3 D2 P$ ~( r2 n; B$ kAnd 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.
/ W1 O% f8 {7 V) g
1 K" ]3 t; a6 g# Y8 N% y6 iAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.9 R ~9 b+ G; I. d9 W2 u
2 ?/ t p3 q5 k9 Z0 e( }Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."8 B; G# A' {% L% l
$ {3 Z: n; v, n
The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.$ H! S" K( z$ o4 r# J
, J$ B( @! t* q
By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.
! L' {9 x& Z$ Y6 }1 G
) y) }& `1 j" yAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.5 c' Q, T! Z: T" b8 [
& r$ ]! a3 n) g/ i
The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.2 l- Z' \5 [( w
6 i- j' |2 a& y
"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.7 W) B) \8 Z- S* K, D8 R
2 k! @( R7 T# u+ a2 {The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.9 o( t9 Y2 k5 R7 x$ x
- D- y r; _" h W wHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.+ ~! \$ j* q3 F0 r. b
3 l$ Z4 ]% a- g( a( x7 N& B# T
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.
1 n: l( h' W3 J$ ~4 ~8 R$ E. w7 m4 e% |2 V7 d" _$ i! ^
A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.) C9 D; n# Z- K* Z8 }
/ f# S9 l6 E$ G8 X" CThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
' k( d4 m$ ~2 l# ^; x4 R9 F+ x% C; n) d- \9 e& m" ]' [% l
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.0 w$ A( L9 C" @. D2 n: F
( E+ N5 q4 t# d a2 w0 N: E; `
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.
1 D. O$ P% s: a$ l5 d& d
0 ] B& B- k" ~/ ~7 t9 vHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
|