ABSTRACT
A wide range of chemicals, from commodity inorganic salts and simple organic compounds to complex custom-synthesized polymers, are employed in various oil™eld chemical applications [1,2]. Although at ™rst sight borates may be considered simply as water-soluble inorganic salts, they differ from commonly used salts like, for example, chlorides and formates, in that they are not employed to control ionic strength, water activity, or §uid density. For the major borate applications, they instead deliver other very speci™c properties as a result of a unique combination of chemical effects.
