Quantitative Flowback Analysis

Know Your Frac
Months Sooner

Name: FBA
Brand: Subsurface Dynamics
Availability: OnlineOnly

FBA turns early flowback pressure and production data into estimates of fracture and reservoir properties - giving completion teams decision-ready insight 6-12 months earlier than conventional analysis, without additional field measurements.

Existing flowback data · No extra field equipment · Early-time decisions

$FBA Summary Report dashboard for a tight oil well, showing input data, RNP diagnostics, fracture model rate, and cumulative history match$

Early-time intelligence from data already collected during flowback

6-12

Months sooner

Hourly+

Typical data resolution

2000+

Wells analyzed

THE ADVANTAGE

Flowback Is More Than Clean-Up Data

It is the first flowing response from the well - and an opportunity to validate frac performance, constrain reservoir behaviour, and improve the next completion while the learning still matters.

OUTCOMES

Accelerate the Learning Curve

Turn the first production response into decisions that can still influence the next well, pad, or drilling season.

Validate the frac earlier

Estimate stimulated volume and fracture properties before conventional long-term analysis is available.

Improve the next completion

Compare results across wells and use the learning to refine completion design while the program is active.

Constrain long-term deliverability

Bring reservoir and fracture estimates into early production forecasting, planning, and reserves conversations.

Use data already collected

Work with routine high-resolution flowback rates and pressures - without a new field campaign or special measurement program.

CAPABILITIES

What FBA Extracts From Early-Time Data

Fracture diagnostics, reservoir characterization, and forecasting inputs - organized around the questions engineering teams need to answer first.

Fracture response

Estimate the properties that define frac effectiveness

Use the earliest flowing response to quantify fracture behaviour and compare completion performance across wells, stages, and pads.

Mobile fracture volume
Fracture conductivity
Fracture area
Cluster efficiency

The diagnostic gap

A huge technological gap exists between frac and long-term production data

Fracture Stimulation

FBA provides critical frac info within 20 days

Online PDA provides info in 6-12 months

Days

3k3,000

Water rateOil rateGas rate

FlowbackOnline Production

Fracture-Dominated Flow

Flowback Analysis (FBA)

Matrix-Dominated Flow

Rate-Transient Analysis
Numerical Simulation
Decline Curve Analysis

Fracture stimulation — days 1–2
FBA provides critical frac info within 20 days
Online PDA provides info in 6–12 months

Fracture-dominated

Flowback Analysis (FBA)

Matrix-dominated

Rate-transient analysis
Numerical simulation
Decline curve analysis

Water rateOil rateGas rate

DECISION-READY OUTPUTS

From Flowing Data to Engineering Parameters

Quantitative FBA provides early estimates that connect completion execution to reservoir performance.

01Mobile fracture volume

02Fracture conductivity

03Fracture area

04Matrix / SRV permeability

05Reservoir pressure

06Cluster efficiency

HOW IT WORKS

The FBA Workflow

Use the short production tests already gathered after hydraulic fracturing to make the earliest flowing response actionable.

Capture the flowback response

Use high-resolution rates and flowing pressures collected during short post-frac production tests.

Model the well and reservoir

Apply the integrated wellbore and FBA workflow to extract fracture and matrix behaviour from the transient response.

Act on the result

Compare wells, calibrate RTA assumptions, refine frac design, and constrain early production expectations.

APPLICATIONS

Useful Beyond the Frac Review

One early-time workflow can support technical, operational, and capital decisions throughout the well lifecycle.

Completion engineering

Assess completion efficacy

Compare frac performance, estimate cluster efficiency, and use cross-well learning to refine stimulation design while the capital program is still moving.

Frac DiagnosticsDesign OptimizationWell Comparison

Reservoir engineering

Characterize earlier

Estimate fracture geometry, reservoir permeability, and pressure before long-term RTA is mature.

GeometryPermeabilityPressure

Planning

Constrain deliverability

Inform production forecasts, reserves, facility planning, budgeting, and long-range capital decisions.

ForecastsReservesCapital Planning

PUT YOUR FLOWBACK DATA TO WORK

See FBA on Your Wells

Book a technical demo and walk through the data requirements, workflow, and decision-ready outputs with our engineering team.

Existing flowback data · No extra field campaigns · Early-time decisions

DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

See What Engineers Say About FBA

“I have used the results to calibrate the RTA models I’ve built and help fine-tune our frac designs going forward.”

Mike Miller, P.Eng.

Senior Reservoir Engineer

TAQA North Ltd.

“Flowback analysis addresses uncertainty and data gaps without having to incur any additional spend.”

Claude Rezk, P.Eng.

Reservoir Engineering Manager

Enercapita Energy Ltd.

FBA Case Studies & Applications

All Case Studies

Subsurface Dynamics Recognized as Industry Leader in Digital Hydraulic Fracturing Technologies

We're proud to share that Subsurface Dynamics has been recognized as one of the leading 3rd-party software providers in the 2025 Kimberlite Hydraulic Fracturing Report. This industry recognition highlights our commitment to advancing digital technologies in hydraulic fracturing operations.

Optimizing Field Development in Unconventional Reservoirs: A Hybrid Workflow for Integrating Early-Time and Long-Term Data

Subsurface Dynamics, in collaboration with Chris Clarkson from the University of Calgary, presented a paper at the 2025 SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference, February 6-8, The Woodlands, Texas. The paper, “New Hybrid Workflow for Field Development Planning and Execution: Early Time Fracs vs Long Term Production,” describes an enhanced hybrid workflow for unconventional field development.

FBA Rapid Diagnostics and Rapid Lookbacks in the Permian Basin

Subsurface Dynamics was tasked with performing a comparison of frac efficacy and reservoir quality on two Permian Basin wells.

New Advancements in Flowback Analysis for Rapid Diagnostics and Integrated Hydraulic Fracture Optimization at SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference

We had a great time presenting our collaborative paper with Whitecap Resources at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition in The Woodlands, Texas, February 6-8, 2024. There was a great turnout for our presentatio

Using FBA to Estimate SRV Overlap and Well Interference to Drive Well Spacing Decisions

Flowback analysis (FBA) has typically been applied on a single-well basis to rapidly diagnose stimulation efficacy shortly after finishing pumping to close the diagnostic gap that exists in the early well life. Recently we have extended ou

Rapid Diagnostics and Rapid Lookbacks in the Duvernay Formation

Subsurface Dynamics was tasked with identifying the critical performance drivers on a series of offsetting Duvernay wells showing dramatically different productivity over the first 18 months of production.