At Foster Creek Cenovus has employed its patented 'wedge well' technology to recover residual resources bypassed by regular SAGD operations, this improves the total recovery rate of the operation. The 'wedge well' technology works by accessing the residual bitumen that is bypassed in regular SAGD operations by drilling an infill well between two established operating SAGD well pairs once the SAGD steam chambers have matured to the point where they have merged and are in fluid communication and then what is left to recover in that reservoir area between the operating SAGD well pairs is a 'wedge' of residual, bypassed oil. Wedge well technology has been shown to improve overall recovery rates by 5%-10% at a reduced capital cost as less steam is required once the steam chambers mature to the point where they are in fluid communication and typically at this stage in the recovery process, also commonly known as the 'blow down' phase, the injected steam is replaced with a non-condensable gas such as methane, further reducing production costs.