The Steel-Cutting Ceremony for FPSO Gato do Mato Marks the Beginning of a New Chapter
The recent steel-cutting ceremony held at the Sumitomo Heavy Industries’ Yokosuka shipyard in Japan signifies the commencement of construction for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit destined for the Gato do Mato field offshore Brazil. This project, operated by Shell Brasil, is a testament to Shell’s confidence in the potential of the Brazilian pre-salt region.
President of Shell Brasil, Cristiano Pinto da Costa, took to social media to share the news, highlighting the significance of this milestone in the execution phase of the FPSO Gato do Mato project. Noteworthy is the fact that this FPSO hull, of considerable size, will be constructed in a modular manner in two different countries, namely China and Japan.
Following the award of a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract last year and a subsequent operations and maintenance agreement, MODEC partnered with Sumitomo to collaborate on the hull construction of the FPSO unit earlier this year.
Designed to operate at a water depth of approximately 2,000 meters, the FPSO Gato do Mato is slated to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), with production expected to commence in 2029.
The Gato do Mato field, situated in the Santos Basin, is a pre-salt gas-condensate discovery encompassing two adjoining blocks: BM-S-54 and Sul de Gato do Mato. Shell, as the operator and 50% shareholder, leads the Gato do Mato Consortium, which also includes Ecopetrol (30%), TotalEnergies (20%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo S/A (PPSA) representing the Brazilian Government in the production sharing agreement (PSC).
With the final investment decision announced in March, Shell’s stake in the Gato do Mato project is set to increase to 70% through a recent stake-swap agreement with TotalEnergies involving both the Gato do Mato and Lapa fields.