VISCOSIFYING HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS

摘要

An oil based drilling mud is viscosified with a maleated ethylene-propylene elas tomers. The elastomers are preferably EPM copolymers or EPDM terpolymers. The concentrat ion of the maleic anhydride grafted to the copolymer or terpolymer backbone ranges from 0.0 1 to 5 wt%, preferably 0.1 to 2.0 wt%. The maleated elastomers are far more effective oil mu d viscosifiers than the organophilic clays presently used.