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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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+ N1 V* Y) l0 X4 E; B- a/ xFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition., ?4 G- i6 t/ t5 Y0 h) {
( q/ K- h; d$ H* H& i$ Q$ 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.6 D7 J8 N3 M# f
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.% ^% v/ G7 w W! u$ K2 { V
, Y- R+ U; I; I1 V$ f& ]# H# V. X+ FReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m., R7 x, |, R7 j% q# z W+ y8 K
8 n7 l' G- i" y( {) b8 T: KA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."+ W, Q! I/ \+ `6 t4 \2 F1 d
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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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/ b6 x0 c# ~7 k4 c' W6 MAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.2 n# ^8 P5 z' s7 i) T: ^
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."+ n* B/ [+ G2 D1 h5 @- X; ^
% U4 ~2 Y, Q$ s8 t8 d& PThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down., i+ ?% B7 [8 v; X; }
) `8 ?* s* \$ r( ]" f1 QBy 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.
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The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.& l+ x: @, d) M
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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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; b3 M2 w i/ o# A3 {4 ^The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.; ~3 p7 N9 z, }( B; W% A2 i3 f4 V# B5 |
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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5 q) ~' Q; K* |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.4 i% c+ t- @4 y' N' H3 I$ B
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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.8 Z5 o6 ?4 k2 E( X
4 D6 v% Q$ P) U& }+ D0 mThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.( E: r6 D; s- {1 N1 }5 E) ]$ v! E
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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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Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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