This disclosure provides drilling fluids and additives as well as fracturing fluids and additives that contain cellulose nanofibers and/or cellulose nanocrystals. In some embodiments, hydrophobic nanocellulose is provided which can be incorporated into oil-based fluids and additives. These water-based or oil-based fluids and additives may further include lignosulfonates and other biomass-derived components. Also, these water-based or oil-based fluids and additives may further include enzymes. The drilling and fracturing fluids and additives described herein may be produced using the AVAP® process technology to produce a nanocellulose precursor, followed by low-energy refining to produce nanocellulose for incorporation into a variety of drilling and fracturing fluids and additives.

Chemical additives useful for hydraulic fracturing operation are comprising of lubricant/nonpolar solvents; hydro-dual-phobic domains as core encapsulated by emulsifiers as shell, suspended in water by hydrogel polymers as hydrophilic domains; soy protein isolate (SPI) and sweet rice flour were modified with crosslinking polymers of isocyanate as hydrophobic domains, which is incorporated into the frac fluid as a standard alone friction reducer solution or as an enhancer of frac fluid viscosity of the final frac fluid products in high salinity brines having a concentration as high as 25.0% at an ambient temperature at a downhole well temperature from 30 to 180° F.

Disclosed is a polymer dispersion prepared by controlled radical polymerization and a use of the polymer dispersion as a friction reducer in oil field processes.

A crosslinked polymer comprising reactants of a first repeating unit, a second repeating unit, and a crosslinker that react to form the crosslinked polymer, wherein the first repeating unit is a sulfonic acid-containing monomer present from 50% to 99% by weight of the reactants, wherein the second repeating unit is selected from the group consisting of an N-vinyl amide-containing monomer, a terminal double bond-containing monomer, and any combination thereof, and is present from 1% to 50% by weight of the reactants, and wherein the crosslinker comprises at least two olefinic bonds, and is present in the range of about 9% to about 25% by weight of the reactants.

A composition for use as a pressure-tolerant dual-crosslinker gel in a fracturing fluid that comprises polymer, the polymer operable to increase the viscosity of a fluid; boron-containing crosslinker, the boron-containing crosslinker operable to crosslink the polymer; and a transition metal oxide additive, the transition metal oxide additive operable to crosslink the polymer.

A method of hydraulic fracturing may comprise mixing at least one liquid sand mixture with a fluid to produce a fracturing fluid; and conveying the fracturing fluid to two or more wellbores simultaneously, wherein the wellbores penetrate a subterranean formation.

A variety of methods are disclosed, including, in one embodiment, a method of making crosslinked aromatic resin beads comprising: contacting a linker agent and a catalyst with an aromatic feedstock at a first temperature effective to react the linker agent with molecules in the aromatic feedstock to form a pre-polymer mixture; combining the pre-polymer mixture with an antisolvent; agitating the pre-polymer mixture and the antisolvent; and heating the pre-polymer mixture and antisolvent to a second temperature to react the pre-polymer mixture to form crosslinked aromatic resin beads, wherein the pre-polymer mixture is dispersed as droplets in the anti solvent.

Friction reducers, fracturing fluid compositions and methods for treating subterranean formations, wherein friction reducer is a reacted, grafted or blend of natural gum and polyacrylamide having a molecular weight between 300,000 and 30,000,000.

A polymer dispersion may include a water soluble copolymer, a water soluble salt, a polyol, and water. A method of preparing a polymer dispersion may include controlled radical polymerization. A method of using the polymer dispersion as a friction reducer in oil field processes.

The invention is directed to delayed gelation agents comprising a degradable polymeric cage containing therein one or more gelation agents. The cage degrades in situ, e.g, in an oil reservoir, thus releasing the gelation agent(s), which can then crosslink second polymers in situ to form a gel.