MODEC: Pieces of Shell’s Brazil-bound FPSO puzzle continue to slide into place

October 6, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Japan’s MODEC is making headway in the construction of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit destined for a field offshore Brazil, operated by the Brazilian subsidiary of the U.K.-headquartered energy giant Shell.

First steel strike ceremony for FPSO Gato do Mato at COSCO Qidong Shipyard; Source: MODEC

Following a steel-cutting ceremony in June 2025 at the Sumitomo Heavy Industries’ Yokosuka shipyard in Japan, MODEC has confirmed a steel strike ceremony for the FPSO Gato do Mato (GdM) aft hull block, which was held at COSCO Qidong Shipyard.

The Japanese giant, which won a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the project last year and a multi-year operations and maintenance gig this year, highlighted: “We’re thrilled to announce the successful steel strike ceremony for the FPSO Gato do Mato (GdM) aft hull block at COSCO Qidong Shipyard.

“This milestone marks significant progress in the GdM project, with forward block construction underway at SHI in Japan. Our partnerships with COSCO SHIPPING and SHI exemplify MODEC’s dedication to collaborating with trusted partners to deliver high-quality solutions for our client.”

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

After the final investment decision for the project came in March, MODEC hired Sumitomo to work on the hull of the FPSO unit in April. This FPSO is going to be moored at a water depth of approximately 2,000 meters, around 200 kilometers south of Rio de Janeiro.

Designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day (boepd), Gato do Mato is expected to start production in 2029. Shell’s interest in the project was set to reach 70% upon completion of the swap deal with TotalEnergies for the Gato do Mato and Lapa fields.

At the time the arrangements were made, the Gato do Mato Consortium included Shell as operator and 50% shareholder, Ecopetrol (30%), TotalEnergies (20%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo S/A (PPSA), acting as the representative of the Brazilian Government in the production sharing agreement (PSC).