Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage
Most of the heavy, tar-like oil called bitumen found in Alberta's
oilsands is too deep in the earth to be mined.
The newest technique for tapping that deep resource is called
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage.
Two parallel wells are drilled into the bottom of the reservoir.
Steam is injected into the top well and the heat melts the
bitumen, which drains by gravity into the lower well.
Because the water is mostly recycled, the process takes less
than a barrel of water for every barrel of oil produced. That
compares to between two and 4½ barrels of water needed
to produce one barrel of oil when bitumen is mined.
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage
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