 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
* w( Q5 m9 W+ M7 H* r
- e) a% j) M# t7 _# a. |" K# `Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.* O8 j% F1 b! @. n
( z, j8 \# ]! E6 ^8 u# C8 eThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
/ \+ }0 S. j; V$ m, T7 u0 c& J# M Z, \* E" c* ~
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.. U* {* z# |4 k1 \9 s4 O( L
n& ?+ V, k- G8 c/ fThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
7 W+ i0 z% e$ r& X. W$ N, R0 d+ z7 }2 V( @: c. o5 p5 P8 I
"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.$ J- V" e8 \& `" @. X) g8 m
% w2 I- q. v9 p8 A- y& \Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.9 \; G# j0 O4 v) t! r
& v" x; _% p+ V8 ZA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."+ n2 B) \ ^& l6 r# a
" P9 s/ _; V2 _/ ZAnd 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.
% W5 B3 t Z. P1 B
' k+ l1 R. m; v; ?% _- KAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
5 {3 D/ L9 g2 v0 }( Y% W+ ]( K+ ]9 V9 r2 { o
Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."% F* z# \( O$ d/ V7 w$ v$ Q* D
$ B2 d1 E! q! {) f, O! F6 E3 p: VThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
1 ]+ S k" u+ r9 c
6 N4 K1 E( `- s: R' x: m" I2 iBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.4 |6 v# K, |. ]( o. m' `; J4 d
! R/ V8 y$ k# ^$ tAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.# |, m! R6 Z/ z! {, A# I/ U
4 m0 C! K, D) a+ X! zThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume., s* g- p1 f8 \
: D% U. D @ }; a3 K. J* V"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.1 U( K0 V8 s" Z( Y) d2 s
& k$ r# M; D: l8 s
The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.7 x$ a; |. M5 O+ B
' V8 z) a/ S) F% I9 e/ J7 _Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
2 ^) ~; O N0 p, l! \; r; t
$ C3 r9 w7 w7 | h6 tIt 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.! A% n5 y" b" i: x
6 ?, `, D$ U q" M2 eA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.) D6 p& ]. m) |& p& d
& q6 j1 S( G- AThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
$ I7 {7 k! ~- Y7 ?$ l
( R# v6 ]7 i9 n9 { |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.
( Q. m5 o6 F Z3 D1 s {2 U" j. J& T
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.
/ m) d, H D' {! Z8 b' r7 @: e) s9 K) R; ^2 ]
Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
|