Fire injures one at Alberta upgrader

A WORKER has been rushed to hospital in a serious condition following a fire at a Canadian oil sands upgrader.

The fire broke out yesterday at 14:00 local time at Syncrude Canada’s Mildred Lake upgrader, 40 km north of Fort McMurray, a city which serves Alberta’s huge oil sands industry. Staff were evacuated from the site. Four hours later the company tweeted to confirm the fire had been brought under control.

“One Syncrude employee was injured and immediately attended to by Syncrude Emergency Services prior to being transported to hospital for medical attention,” the company said in a statement.

Alberta Health Services has said that the worker is in a serious but stable condition.

The company has not released any details on the expected cause of the fire. An investigation will follow.

The 350,000 bbl/d facility processes bitumen from oil sands into synthetic crude. Last year, it was forced – along with many other oil sands operations – to shut down as wild fires raged through the region. Efforts to recover from the disaster and the extensive damage caused are ongoing.