 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 2 L; o* a* Y' S* t
# c/ L& P# V6 m6 m( I
Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
- e: C) I# ?2 s2 I) i. d4 e7 U/ m; F$ k8 p* l1 v( @
Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition./ I( [! v# Q0 ^3 |8 z8 m
) x0 t% l9 d" B) t3 L& @6 T
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.
, Z3 N Y& x. Y7 Q- |
' l8 W; \( L6 z/ hThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.1 h/ j7 v( V2 ^& e9 R* N0 i
" Z. J! K p2 p! \"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.- U7 r$ m, H- G9 z6 ^+ N1 Z
% U7 O( g+ Q7 n' UReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.$ ~4 b% G; `% M; `0 I4 l3 m" j$ W
* N* t, Z5 N2 t; k7 ]
A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
}9 [7 h! F& q7 y8 V
6 T! p! `! k1 c g J- iAnd 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.* x2 o5 L4 e3 q( a; I" @- t/ n* O; Z
( b V2 K+ \. u: m' b! ]) h' p- D" uAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.4 v; A: a8 H/ v% z: a8 ^+ i0 K
2 L: `. n7 C3 `) I* s1 V* BChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage.": V" W# g+ w& S' P, B
$ ~" ^+ O3 B' `& `The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.! Q6 E: R; ^+ a4 a
3 O* ]! @: U6 b0 w
By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.* H6 A9 }$ ^- p9 _
6 F. |2 x* B# `7 o0 \9 b" Z
Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.! Y9 o; O, H0 ~3 T4 f/ A1 Q
2 E6 Q5 Y" y) k5 t% ?The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
5 ` Z/ m6 w5 w7 t( B# t5 y' i$ {$ c% M5 h
"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.. S. d5 N' }8 N- o' Y t% ]: w
" U% r; b9 Q5 \. G: i5 O
The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.' u+ g0 z4 |! F* W
- @9 U; I2 V9 Y m. q p+ P4 p4 s
Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
3 U* { v! d+ i3 ]* p8 b
& |, [% D+ {4 k$ z2 c; G6 aIt 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.2 O; D: h" Y- q# I9 \! O }7 ?" D
! f/ Z( e- J8 X1 O# [+ | p) M* s# @A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.
: R( l' h) \; e) Z/ s# l+ J
1 A( _. L* H! q8 n+ K+ {) wThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.; i; \9 c. K% Y9 P- q
* d r9 ~4 |, o& vCanadian 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.! A* q2 M9 B( ?0 z* A- v
- C) m3 l8 s# e% G* oFires 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.6 ]) K; U! O0 ^
$ X* I( G- u- Z) j' x
Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
|