Although high recovery efficiency is expected from the SAGD process, high steam production costs and the substantial volumes of water required have made us focus on more effective recovery methods. One such method is the Fast-SAGD process which utilizes one or more offset horizontal wells parallel to the original SAGD well pair. In these studies, simulations were used to examine the reservoir parameters and operating conditions that need to be in place to optimize the SAGD process. Based on the simulation of a typical Cold Lake reservoir in Alberta, the studies found that relatively clean sand reservoirs with a minimum thickness of 20 in and a vertical permeability of 2.5 Darcy are good candidates for the application of SAGD. Also, reservoirs in a fining upward depositional environment are ideally suited for a SAGD operation. The results of our studies also showed that, for the same operating conditions, Fast-SAGD improved energy efficiency by 24% and productivity by 35% over SAGD. Fast-SAGD is therefore a more efficient recovery process requiring less steam and having lower operating costs to produce the same amount of bitumen. The case of two offset wells located on either side of one SAGD well pair promises the most effective Fast-SAGD configuration, even if a total of six offset wells with a SAGD well pair is still economic compared to the conventional SAGD process. Cumulative bitumen production is increased and at the same time the cumulative steam-oil ratio is decreased as a result of higher thermal efficiency.