History matching is a critical part of the simulation workflow. History matching in shale is unique because it involves data from both hydraulic fracturing and from production. This paper presents a step by step workflow to facilitate history matching numerical simulation models of hydraulically fractured shale wells. We perform sensitivity analysis simulations using a coupled hydraulic fracturing, geomechanics, and reservoir simulator. The results are used to develop ‘motifs’ that inform the history matching process. Using intuition from these simulations, we show how to expedite history matching by changing matrix permeability, fracture conductivity, matrix pressure dependent permeability, boundary effects, and relative permeability. Finally, a worked example, using two Eagle Ford hydraulically fractured wells, is presented to demonstrate the workflow.
