This research aims to develop low cost, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and high performance water-based drilling fluids (WDFs) using bentonite (BT), polyanionic cellulose (PAC), and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). The effect of concentration of BT, PAC, and CNCs on the rheological and filtration properties of PAC/CNC/BT-WDFs was investigated. Eight empirical rheological models were applied to fit quantitatively the fluid properties. Results showed that the presence of PAC, CNCs, and BT improved the rheological and filtration properties of the WDFs. Among the eight empirical rheological ...