(Received: 2015/04/16 - Accepted: 2015/05/29)

This paper presents the oil deposit and operational variables that influence the implementation of the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process for the Production of Heavy and Extra-heavy Crude Oil. This process consists of drilling two parallel horizontal wells, one above the other, where the upper well is used for steam injection and the lower well is used for production. The efficiency of the process is greatly affected by the deposit and operating parameters (vertical spacing of wells, injection pressure, preheating period, among others). Furthermore, the prediction of the maximum rate of oil extraction was determined using an example with currently available real data of Block 20 of the Pungarayacu Field.