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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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; F7 S |' \( D1 EFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.& J5 Y9 Q" c$ W1 b. \! _$ E8 o4 i
- e# o( G/ L, Y* rThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.3 X$ v/ ]; S9 g
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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.* g8 I& q8 ?; h# {6 x/ N$ T' V
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.5 c+ Z& m: }3 S* Z
7 p( T4 [( w( i"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.0 J1 F+ S) H5 z0 X
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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."& j" X- H! L: S/ H2 l4 ^* s
& t: L& {' `, Y4 X' dAnd 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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" O2 J6 Y6 \4 |1 ~% iAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."* j3 r1 s! [* p3 u& Q* o9 R* `: {3 _5 x' |
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.4 i& z% @; h) l& \
7 l+ ] p. | GBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area." W. y9 S+ d3 _! a( o8 j, P3 c* ^0 f
1 a, K. \. \7 s& H3 yAir 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.2 f# t& ^/ U9 x% U9 g9 l9 d. ?, V
. }( n1 Y5 o1 v5 Z"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.7 r% e- _5 C" D6 a' c
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The 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.2 ^2 Q- w% v9 z6 V+ u" B! g
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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.7 }& r7 L/ d# G0 B+ l
* @9 V% i& e( r- c! NA 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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# \3 r a" H* T7 f6 t! n& yThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.8 {0 ?( j! N6 F: t4 V
& A H4 F/ z5 C* xCanadian 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.+ J0 G9 G5 q) S: ~( V z: L
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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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4 [3 O" b8 P; _; u+ xHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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