Shell, through its subsidiary, Shell Brasil Petróleo (Shell Brasil), has sanctioned the Gato do Mato gas-condensate project in Brazil’s pre-salt Santos Basin.
The final investment decision (FID) allows Shell and its partners to advance the deep-water development towards production.
Shell is the operator of the Gato do Mato consortium with a 50% stake. Its partners include Ecopetrol (30%) and TotalEnergies (20%).
Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) oversees the production-sharing contract.
The Gato do Mato project will include a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, designed to handle up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. The estimated recoverable resource volume for the development is around 370 million barrels.
Production from the offshore Brazilian project is expected to begin in 2029.
The field spans two adjoining blocks, which are BM-S-54, secured under a concession contract in 2005, and Sul de Gato do Mato, acquired through a production-sharing agreement in 2017.
The site is located in waters between 1,750 and 2,050m deep, near the Rio de Janeiro coastline. Initially, natural gas will be reinjected into the reservoir to maintain pressure, with the option of future exports to onshore processing facilities.
Shell expects the investment to generate an internal rate of return above the required threshold for its upstream business.
The resource estimates fall under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Petroleum Resources Classification System at a P50 level, meaning there is an equal probability of actual recoverable volumes being higher or lower than forecasted.
Shell integrated gas and upstream director Zoë Yujnovich said: “Gato do Mato is an example of our ongoing investment in increasingly efficient projects.
“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.”
MODEC was previously awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the FPSO unit supporting the project. The company will design the hull and topsides facilities, with the vessel to be anchored using a SOFEC Spread Mooring system at a depth of approximately 2,000m, about 250km offshore. The FPSO will store stabilised crude oil before it is transported to market using shuttle tankers.
