Patent ID: 7448447

Claim:
An apparatus for use in a heat assisted fluid recovery application that injects hot vaporized fluid in the vicinity of a production well, the production well employing electrically powered downhole equipment to pump production fluid therefrom, the apparatus comprising: temperature sensor and monitoring means for characterizing temperature of the production fluid at a location upstream from the downhole equipment of the production well; alarm generation means for generating an alarm signal in the event that said temperature at the upstream location exceeds a threshold temperature characteristic of injection vapor breakthrough; in response to receiving said alarm signal, control means, operably coupled to said alarm generation means and said downhole equipment, for shutting off supply of electric power to the downhole equipment prior to the downhole equipment reaching the threshold temperature characteristic of injection vapor breakthrough; and wherein the temperature sensor and monitoring means comprises an optical fiber that extends down the production well at least to said location upstream from the downhole equipment.