Oil Field Chemicals

The market for oil field chemicals that enable the production of oil and gas or make it more efficient is in many ways complex. Different chemicals are used at different stages of the process, starting from the drilling of the borehole, to production and stimulation, and finally to the closing of the borehole. Organic as well as inorganic base chemicals are used, for example, as a matrix fluid of drilling fluid or as weighting agents to increase the specific weight of a drilling fluid. These base chemicals, despite being used in large volumes, are not within the focus of this report, which is on specialty chemicals that provide distinct and sophisticated functionalities. To name only a few of these functionalities, these specialty chemicals help avoid penetration and loss of drilling fluid in different geological formations, provide protection from corrosion in hot and chemically aggressive environments, and ensure that drilling fluids remain fluid and easily pumpable under a wide range of temperature conditions and solids loadings.