# Oilfield and mining chemicals

Drilling fluids, production and stimulation chemicals for oil and gas wells, plus flotation and leaching reagents for mines; a $26 billion market.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/

Specialty chemicals · Industrial & consumer specialties · No. 89

- Product family
- Feedstock: Minerals and salts
- not published as a family tonnage; barite alone, about 70% of which goes into drilling mud, was 9.38 Mt in 2024 (World Mining Data via barite tile)
- HS 382499
 Specialty chemicals · Industrial & consumer specialties · Foundation · Matter

Every oil well is drilled with a heavy mud made dense by barite, and India mines a third of it.

Chart: Illustration: Oilfield and mining chemicals

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Muds are blended from barite, about 70% of which goes into drilling, plus bentonite, starch and polymers; frack fluids use polyacrylamide or guar.

##### Three things to know

1. SLB paid $7.8 billion for ChampionX in July 2025 to own production chemicals, which are dosed for a well's whole life.
2. About 70% of barite goes into drilling mud, and India produced about 3.0 Mt of it in 2025.
3. Drilling fluids are the largest slice, about 35% of the market, worth roughly $9.0 billion.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Raw materials**Barite, bentonite, guar, base oils, acrylonitrile
2. 2 **Active ingredients**Polymers, surfactants, inhibitors, amines
3. 3 **Basin blending**Field-specific packages mixed near oilfields
4. 4 **Downhole use**Drilling mud, fracking fluid, production inhibitors
5. 5 **Oil and gas**Wells drilled, stimulated and kept flowing

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/links/index.md)