Out of 177 billion initial established Alberta bitumen reserves (in situ and minable), 8.7% have been produced since commercial production began in 1967. Bitumen is too viscous for direct extraction when it is at original reservoir condition, with viscosities of thousands to millions of centipoises. Oil sands recovery is currently carried out by injecting high-pressure and high- temperature steam into the reservoir to lower the bitumen’s viscosity until it easily flows under gravity. Steam-based extraction methods of bitumen recovery, such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), are energy-intensive consuming natural gas (combustion) and electricity and therefore release large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Much focus on lowering the GHG intensity of SAGD has been on alternative non-steam or less-steam processes. Here, the focus is on alternative steam generation technologies. The first study focused on replacing once through steam generators (OTSGs) with direct contact steam generators (DCSGs) using geochemically-reactive reservoir simulation. The effect of co-injecting carbon dioxide with steam was investigated. The second study quantified GHG emission reduction by DCSGs using the Green House Gas emissions of currently operating Oil Sands Technologies (GHOST). The last two chapters explored the applications of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) for steam generation in currently operating SAGD operations (brown field) and a future-built SAGD (Green field), respectively. The following results were found: 1. CO2 co-injection significantly reduces H2S generation via aquathermolysis with the enhancement of methane production. 2. The carbon intensity of SAGD can be reduced by up to 30% using DCSG. The additional advantage of DCSG is the lower water quality requirement, minimizing pre-treatment of recycled water. 3. Oil sands extraction can be carried out by using SMRs to provide electricity and steam. Depending on the amount of oil production, the net present value generated through SMR-integrated SAGD can exceed current commercial SAGD practice while eliminating all GHG emissions associated with steam and power generation in SAGD operations.