1. n. [Enhanced Oil Recovery, Heavy Oil]

The volume of reservoir in which mobile steam exists for an extended period of time. Within the steam chamber, rock temperature rises to the point where steam vapor can be sustained at reservoir pressure conditions. The steam chamber is normally found in the upper portion of a reservoir sand between a steam injector and a producer, where steam has broken through to the producer. With time, the steam chamber can expand to cover an entire area of a five-spot pattern steamflood. For a steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) system, the steam chamber in a mature field project can extend from a broad area across the top of the sand to a narrow finger down to the producing horizontal well near the bottom of the sand. Also referred to as a steam chest.

See: reservoir pressure