The need for high-temperature electric submersible pump (ESP) systems is growing as the oil industry matures. Canada's nonconventional oil reserves are estimated at just over 1 trillion barrels and Suncor's heavy oil reserves in northern Alberta, Canada, are estimated to have a potential production of 14 billion barrels of crude oil, but traditional mining methods of recovery do not make them all economically reachable. It is estimated that less than one-fifth of the oil sands resource is mineable. To deal with this, Suncor has turned to in-situ steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations as a key part of its plans to increase bitumen supply to its upgraders. The SAGD approach uses a pair of horizontal wells drilled parallel to each other and separated vertically by a distance of approximately 5 m. Steam injected through the uppermost well penetrates the surrounding formation, heats the heavy-oil sands, and creates a high-temperature region above the injector known as the steam chamber. Heat transferred to the oil sands reduces oil and bitumen viscosity. Gravity forces the oil, bitumen, and condensed steam downward, where these fluids, consisting of about 25–80% water, are produced into the lower well.
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