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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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6 K. O$ N7 F* b% t: O; M2 L; ], G/ JFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.; i8 d/ y0 N! J2 ]$ g, g
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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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.7 ~# Y: |- Z5 L" R& W; Z
3 E9 h' `" _* W- T( |+ kThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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3 ]1 m, S% f8 a7 g. @"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.4 a3 d/ i2 J0 w+ u0 N% t m5 ]
! v) A" q8 d* `# qReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m. t8 o& v0 {+ n+ y- ]
3 _5 v' ]( I( {! M- D" `) uA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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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.9 P1 G/ W& b1 r, E2 D2 W6 O+ k/ P
- [( h& r$ I U9 @- V" C' qAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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& v% t8 S5 S- a8 E4 ^; U- eChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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4 n7 u3 Q. W, AThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.6 q8 ^8 u3 {* H0 r& a
: Q# ]9 P) z6 q d' T6 w- f1 u* HBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.- q8 S5 p/ ?* F& P3 M, G
" K9 @9 Z2 `& @7 f* E! X7 [0 KThe 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.0 E3 `: K1 G# L( x3 V
' u. D: o* R! \# s% a0 [The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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% [9 ?. z3 v$ B( F# Z9 r( ~9 NHorizon 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.! |( m$ g& `$ d4 z
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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.0 z) i# G9 `% F# w- E" _
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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.3 o4 N7 @( B+ x. j9 w
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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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