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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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% i4 u$ V! |, t3 I6 GFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.. X$ V4 Z7 v: T4 V6 }
1 a3 D- z& O5 P0 C/ g9 L, A0 V# eThree 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.7 o% R. n2 ]) `; h
8 Z8 m6 ~6 }/ I+ e; J0 UThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.- X. n& n- e! Q. ^/ y! U1 ^$ S0 R C
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement." X1 f2 W2 N# n/ `
( m' I5 i% k! B4 p) r, [* C: J0 MReports 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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, M" {* ?$ c2 e4 Q4 k$ RAnd 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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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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1 B6 u: T7 Z' h; ^. u" u8 QChris 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.; e( l4 y K) I$ P% [7 x1 [' F
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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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( m$ O" a* z+ FAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday., [6 B D" a1 s; L
' Q4 o+ s: L! J7 Y1 _7 |The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
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$ z$ v6 O" u# {, i5 ^& ["Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.4 F) x! X: _* v$ Z! Y
9 p+ R7 q" Z4 W- C- q& ]1 N cThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.) p: O2 I; \4 y4 ]) { E) X
( Z" U( ~+ r+ B5 THorizon 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.
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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.+ M% Q5 R+ b( ]; g9 F
+ ` Q" f {4 O/ uThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.5 Z$ I2 f! _- N7 |
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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.4 E" ?, S. _. C* L P" q
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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.* q1 U- R, _8 i9 E6 g, n ]
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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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