Patent ID: 7604054

Claim:
A method for in situ recovery of hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising: a. drilling a bore hole in the formation to a predetermined depth to define a well bore with a casing; b. installing one or more vertical hydraulic fractures from the bore hole to create a process zone by injecting a fracture fluid into the casing, wherein the hydraulic fractures contain a proppant and a diluent; c. washing fracturing fluids from the casing; d. providing heat inside the casing from a heat source to raise the temperature in a section of the bore hole containing the diluent; e. providing a downhole pump and piping inside the casing; f. providing a top screen and a bottom screen in said casing hydraulically connecting said well bore to said hydraulic fractures; g. circulating the diluent past said heat source, into the downhole pump, through the piping and out of the casing through the top screen and into the hydraulic fractures and the formation and from the hydraulic fractures and the formation into the casing through the bottom screen; and h. recovering a mixture of diluent and hydrocarbons from the formation.