Over the past two decades, the decline in reserves of conventional crude oil has led to the developinent of several methods of enhanced oil recovery for heavy oil deposits. A special form of steam flooding, known as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), was developed to provide a process which could recover more oil than is possible by conventional steam flooding processes. The SAGD process results in a complex interaction of geomechanics and multiphase thermal flow in cohesionless porous media. Mean stress and/or shear induced volume changes within the reservoir from fluid pressure and temperature changes will result in changes in absolute permeability. Absolute permeability of the reservoir affects the drainage of fluids from the steam front and therefore the frontal advance rate and the production rate;​ it is one the most important parameters in the effectiveness of the SAGD process.

This research encompassed the analysis of laboratory, field instrumentation and numerical modeling results to identify geomechanical phenomena which influence the steam assisted gravity drainage recovery process. A laboratory testing program characterized thermal volume change, thermal conductivity, compressibility, stress-strain-strength and gas evolution and composition of oil sands, shale and limestone materials. Field instrumentation results from steam assisted gravity drainage process trials provided field evidence of geomechanical phenomena in the SAGD process. Numerical modeling studies served to elucidate fundamental geomechanical principles affecting the SAGD process. It was shown that formation displacements within the reservoir are capable of significantly influencing reservoir properties. Vertical extensional strains of 2.5%, horizontal extensional strains of 0.3%, volumetric strains of 2.5% and a 30% to 40% increase in absolute permeability were measured within the reservoir as a result of the SAGD process.