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Key Resource Parameters For SAGD

Achieving technical as well as economic success in SAGD operations depends on many criteria, but four reservoir parameters are considered absolutely key. These are:

• The thickness of the bitumen-bearing reservoir;
• The porosity (or physical space in the sands available to hold bitumen);
• The permeability (or ability of fluids to move through the reservoir); and
• The ratio of bitumen to sand and water within a given volume of reservoir.

The minimum standards to sustain practical operations are considered to be:

• 10-14 metres of net pay;
• 27 percent porosity;
• 2 Darcys of horizontal permeability; and
• 6-8 percent bitumen weight.

The Clearwater reservoir exceeds all of these levels, in some cases by large margins. Details can be found by clicking here.