Now more than ever, operators are focused on methods of improving well performance to reduce costs and increase production. Much of that improvement is centered on well spacing, completion designs and surface efficiency. Drawdown management during the IP period—or flowback—is an often overlooked means of improving well performance. The data collected during this early-time flowback period offers one of the first glimpses of valuable information that helps to evaluate well performance and reservoir responses. Many operators tend to either flow wells too aggressively or too conservatively. This approach is often derived from rules of thumb or simplified diagnostics that fail to capture the true effects of drawdown on well performance. A real-time workflow must be used to evaluate flowback data to optimize the drawdown strategy so operators can maximize the production of each well, in the shortest amount of time, all without damaging the reservoir or completion

10