Various petroleum extraction subterranean formation treatment procedures require use of compositions having high viscosities, such as during drilling or stimulation treatments. Higher viscosity fluids can more effectively carry materials such as proppants or drill cuttings. Further, higher viscosity drilling fluids can more effectively carry materials away from a drilling location downhole. However, the higher temperatures experienced in subterranean formations can limit, reduce, or degrade the effectiveness of certain viscosifiers, resulting in the use of larger amounts of viscosifiers to compensate for the high temperatures, or the use of expensive temperature-resistant viscosifiers. In addition, the presence of various ions in water can limit, reduce, or degrade the effectiveness of certain viscosifiers.
Various viscosifiers are used with clay in order to achieve a desired viscosity or degree of fluid loss control. However, the use of clay can cause severe formation damage due to plugging of the pores of the reservoir formation and due to difficulty of clean-up.