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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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3 p) u9 L) G( L, JFour 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.
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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.
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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2 Q+ T* Z5 H' E"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement., r1 o( b" v, c3 r' v+ S, _
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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: J5 H9 C2 i2 K" g7 wAnd 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.- t3 g" U% `" j8 ?9 x5 T; C- A' A& ?
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.9 e* n3 w9 k9 x2 ?( w7 M, x7 n7 `
X/ G( X& p- p0 o2 t# S( \8 V% ZChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage.". G6 z' x: d7 c H% W( `5 Y. [
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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By 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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+ M8 }* b* g5 K3 _* DThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.0 l2 N2 U$ P& S$ F; E3 U" C
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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., U5 @" x, R& P: x* w0 P
2 a' d2 G& v& ^# J! yThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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Horizon 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.- n8 Y" K9 M- F$ v
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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.
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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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1 @- S; F+ r& _1 p3 J b; k) o% K. NCanadian 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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