Some recent developments in SAGD

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is being using increasingly for the recovery of bitumen and heavy oil in Canada. Four large SAGD projects are u nder construction in Athabasca and two others have been announced. These pr ojects are expected to produce bitumen economically and with a recovery gre ater than 50%. Productivity will be close to 1000 B/d per well pair. There are also many successful smaller, and growing, projects and pilots in Athab asca, Cold Lake and Lloydminster. Because of the rising costs of fuel it is desirable to reduce steam require ments for SAGD. Means for doing this include cogeneration of steam and powe r, alternate fuels, choosing better reservoirs, improved heat recovery, and the newer related processes, SAGP and Vapex.