The variants of chemical modification of technical lignins for the production of drilling reagents in demand in various technological operations during the construction of wells are considered. In particular, to obtain drilling fluids, stabilizers and regulators of their rheological properties, to increase resistance to high temperatures and salts present in the formations being developed. Some methods of obtaining such reagents from modified technical lignins are considered. The relevance of the use of lignin-containing industrial waste and by-products for the needs of drill-ing technology is shown