Shell Brasil Petroleo Ltd has reached a final investment decision (FID) with Modec Inc for a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to be deployed at the Gato do Mato oil field, offshore Brazil.
The partners have a purchase and sales agreement that allows Modec to cover operations and maintenance of the FPSO for a period of 20 years with Shell. This follows the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract in March 2024 that has already been delivered.
The new agreement makes Modec responsible for the design of the hull and all related topsides facilities for the FPSO before mooring it with the help of a Sofec Spread Mooring system. Once moored at a water depth of approximately 2,000m, around 200km South of Rio de Janeiro, FPSO Gato do Mato will be capable of producing 120,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), as well as associated gas and water. The produced stabilized crude will be stored in the FPSO tanks, and the oil will be offloaded to shuttle tankers to go to market.
Modec's 19th project in Brazil and the second for Shell, the FPSO Gato do Mato will feature a new built, custom-made next generation hull, designed on the basis of a 25-year shelf life.
The FPSO Gato do Mato will be the 19th FPSO to be developed by MODEC for Brazil. It will be the second unit to be delivered directly to Shell by MODEC for operation in Brazil.
The FPSO agreement comes soon after Shell took the FID for Gato do Mato, a deep-water project in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.
The Gato do Mato Consortium includes Shell (operator with a 50% stake), Ecopetrol (30%), TotalEnergies (20%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) acting as the manager of the production sharing contract (PSC). It is said that the estimated recoverable resource volumes from the site can reach upto 370 mn barrels.
“Gato do Mato is an example of our ongoing investment in increasingly efficient projects,” said Zoe Yujnovich, Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director. “The project contributes to maintaining stable liquids production from our advantaged Upstream business, and expands our leadership as the largest foreign producer in Brazil as we continue working to provide for the world’s energy needs well into the future.”
The consortium anticipates that the Gato do Mato field will commence operations in 2029.
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