Patent ID: 11932803
Assignee: HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.
Field: Basic materials chemistry (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C  E | IPC C  E

Claim 9:
10. A method comprising:
blending at least one clay as a dry solid and an extender as a dry solid to create a blended dry composition, wherein the at least one clay consists of sepiolite, and wherein the extender consists of sodium polyacrylate with a molecular weight of about 500,000 g/mol;
mixing at least the blended dry composition with an aqueous base fluid to form a treatment fluid, wherein the aqueous base fluid comprises an amount of the clay and the extender, combined, from about 2 lbs/bbl of the treatment fluid to about 15 lbs/bbl of the treatment fluid, and wherein the extender is present in an amount from about 1 lbs/ton of the clay to about 8 lbs/ton of the clay, wherein the aqueous base fluid comprises one or more salts in an amount of about 50 g/L of the aqueous base fluid to about 60 g/L of the aqueous base fluid;
wherein a negatively charged portion of the extender interacts with a positively charged portion of the clay to flocculate the clay, and wherein addition of the extender increases a viscosity of the treatment fluid relative to a viscosity of the treatment fluid without the extender; and
introducing the treatment fluid into a wellbore penetrating at least a portion of a subterranean formation.