A method to enhance oil shale, oil sand, asphaltic crude oil, or other
high viscosity crude oil production by using a solar blackbody waveguide
to heat these formations in situ. A parabolic mirror collects and directs
the solar flux into a vertical shaft of a well drilled into the
formation. This vertical shaft is lined with a reflective sleeve that
reflects nearly all of the sunlight down into the well bore. The
reflective sleeve ends at the top of the formation so that below this
point, the solar flux is permitted to make successive reflections with
the interior of the metal well casing or solar blackbody waveguide coil.
The coil absorbs the solar flux, converting it to heat. Heat from the
coil is transferred by conduction into the formation and allowing the
formation to be produced by traditional methods.