Patent ID: 7090014

Claim:
A method for recovering heavy oil from an underground reservoir, comprising: providing a plurality of pairs of wells, each pair comprising an upper injection well and a lower production well, said well pairs penetrating the reservoir adjacent but above its base and being arranged in laterally spaced apart, side by side arrangement, the wells of each pair having portions that are generally horizontal, spaced apart, parallel and coextensive, said wells being completed and associated so that they can be used for practice of steam-assisted gravity drainage (“SAGD”) production; producing oil from a first reservoir section, using at least one pair of wells completed in said section, by sequentially practicing SAGD and gas pressurization; and producing oil from a second reservoir section, adjacent said first reservoir section in conjunction with gas pressurization in the first reservoir section, using at least one pair of wells completed in said second reservoir section, by sequentially practicing SAGD and gas pressurization.