1. adj. [Enhanced Oil Recovery, Drilling Fluids]

Pertaining to an attraction for oil by a surface of a material or a molecule. This term is applied to the oil-wetting behavior of treatment chemicals for oil muds. Lipophilic oil-mud additives are required because most minerals drilled and additives such as barite are naturally hydrophilic and must be rendered lipophilic.

Antonyms: hydrophilic

See related terms: HLB number,  hydrophile-lipophile balance number,  lyophilic,  oil mud,  oil-wet