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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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. l, w) W5 Y1 S: H ]8 {6 `6 oFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.9 r, E/ I% W. i! {- S* E
$ k' {- [: @4 N' u( M0 aThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.5 n4 A3 Z$ U% E1 \
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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.( @3 A% P& Z0 q) E7 ?/ @
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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5 v' | [3 s5 b, y8 u; d) {' VReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m." K$ B5 A. j$ N( S+ v$ l }
/ U+ S7 P0 `9 {! KA 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.
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4 ?9 I8 }) f, G/ D* L5 P1 iAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.7 {% Y, u; x. B: [$ q4 v
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.+ ~2 R; M6 n. C' v
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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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$ [9 x( w1 c# o0 N, OThe 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.
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8 _4 S* Z' Y( g4 c2 bThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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+ {0 w$ _7 i6 N3 HHorizon 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.4 T/ ~, y; r* L8 U
4 u- C1 ^3 u9 Z3 ]" QA 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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& t( w0 Y' c+ n& q! Y* r( U) J! kThe 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.
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/ ?( c1 e: D+ kHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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