Shell’s Brazil-Bound FPSO Starts Taking Shape

MODEC has held a steel strike ceremony for the part of Gato do Mato floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, which will be deployed at Shell’s field offshore Brazil.

The ceremony was held at the COSCO Qidong Shipyard, marking the start of construction of the the aft block of next-generation hull for the Gato do Mato FPSO.

Shell hired MODEC for the operations and maintenance of the FPSO, set for deployment at Gato do Mato deepwater field off Brazil, for a period of 20 years.

MODEC is in charge of the design of the hull and all related topsides facilities for the FPSO, which will be moored by a SOFEC Spread Mooring system.

The agreement followed the execution of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract, which was awarded to MODEC in March 2024, and final investment decision (FID) for the project made by Shell Brasil Petróleo, a subsidiary of Shell, in March 2025.

A month later, MODEC signed a contract with Sumitomo Heavy Industries for the delivery of forward block of the FPSO.

At the time the FID was made, Gato do Mato Consortium included Shell (operator with a 50% stake), Ecopetrol (30%), TotalEnergies (20%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) acting as the manager of the production sharing contract (PSC).

Since, TotalEnergies signed an agreement with Shell Brasil Petróleo to exchange its 20% non-operated interest in the Gato do Mato project for an additional 3% interest in Lapa, a producing offshore oil field, which is subject to regulatory approvals.

“We're thrilled to announce the successful steel strike ceremony for the FPSO Gato do Mato aft hull block at COSCO Qidong Shipyard. This milestone marks significant progress in the project, with forward block construction underway at SHI in Japan,” MODEC said on social media.

When installed, FPSO Gato do Mato will be capable of producing 120,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), as well as associated gas and water, and will be moored at a water depth of approximately 2,000 m, around 200 km South of Rio de Janeiro.

Located in the Santos Basin, the Gato do Mato project is a pre-salt gas-condensate discovery that covers two contiguous blocks - BM-S-54, a concession contract entered into in 2005, and Sul de Gato do Mato, a production sharing agreement obtained in 2017.

Initial operations will involve the reinjection of natural gas for reservoir pressure support, with future optionality to export gas to onshore facilities.

The consortium expects that the Gato do Mato field will start operations in 2029.

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