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Update: Shell contracts FPSO for Brazilian deepwater project
Shell has selected the provider of a floating production storage and offloading vessel for its upcoming Gato do Mato gas-condensate development in Brazil
Modec has won a purchase and operations contract from Shell for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the energy major’s latest deepwater Brazilian project.
This FPSO will be moored in around 2,000 m of water, some 200 km south of Rio de Janeiro to produce and export hydrocarbon liquids from the Gato do Mato gas-condensate field that lies beneath the region-wide layer of salt.
Modec confirmed this FPSO would be capable of producing 120,000 barrels of oil per day, as well as associated gas and water, and that it is anticipated to be able to store around 2M barrels of oil.
Modec will be responsible for the design of the hull and all related topsides facilities for the FPSO, which will be moored by a Sofec spread-mooring system.
Modec said it will select a shipyard to build the FPSO. The FPSO will have a 25-year design life and be operated by Modec for at least 20 years for Shell under the contract.
Shell intends to store stabilised crude produced from the reservoir in the FPSO tanks before it is offloaded to shuttle tankers to be transported to refineries.
Modec won the FPSO purchase and operating contract following the successful execution of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract, which was awarded in March 2024.
Partners in the Gato do Mato project in the Santos Basin – Shell, Petrobras, Ecopetrol and TotalEnergies – took the final investment decision on 21 March 2025.
This development will consist of a series of production and injection wells drilled and connected through a network of subsea flowlines, risers and umbilicals to the Modec FPSO, with first oil anticipated in 2029.
This project lies in 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.
Its reservoir lies in water depths ranging from 1,750 m to 2,050 m and is estimated to hold around 370M barrels of recoverable resources.
Shell said it would reinject the gas associated with the oil and condensates during the liquids extraction phase to maintain reservoir pressure, and review options to export the gas to onshore facilities in the future.
FPSO Gato do Mato will be the 19th FPSO to be developed by Modec for Brazil, and it will be the second unit to be delivered directly to Shell for operations in Brazil.
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