Combination production of shallow heavy crude

A method for producing heavy crude oil from shallow formations while reducing the probability of surface steam breakthrough, comprising the steps of:

• drilling and completing a predetermined pattern of injection wells and producing wells through the overburden over a shallow heavy oil producing zone and into the producing zone;
• cold producing a combination of heavy oil and sand from the producing zone by use of a heavy oil pumping means for a predetermined period of time, thereby enlarging the borehole effective diameter in the producing zone in the vicinity of the well bores of said injection and producing wells;
• injecting low pressure steam into said injection wells and said producing wells simultaneously for a predetermined period of time, to heat and lower the viscosity of the heavy oil near the wellbores of said injection and producing wells, stopping said steam injection and producing a sand and lowered viscosity heated heavy oil from said injection wells and said producing wells simultaneously until the reduced viscosity heavy oil is essentially produced and then repeating this push-pull cycle of low pressure steam injection and heavy oil and sand production until the oil production becomes uneconomical;
• and
• injecting low pressure steam into said injection wells and producing heated heavy oil and sand from said producing wells continuously.