MODEC has completed the forward hull section of the FPSO Gato do Mato, a 120,000-barrel-per-day unit destined for the Santos Basin pre-salt cluster off Brazil, with the structure now in transit from Japan to China for integration with the aft hull.

The forward section departed Sumitomo Heavy Industries' (SHI-ME) Yokosuka shipyard and is en route to a Chinese yard where MODEC is assembling the aft hull in parallel. Once joined, the combined hull advances to the next construction phase.

"This milestone is more than the completion of a major hull section," Soichi Ide, head of MODEC's Floating Production Solutions Business Unit, told Offshore Energy. "It demonstrates how innovation and collaboration are shaping the future of FPSO delivery."

What does the multi-yard approach change?

MODEC framed the shipyard handover as proof of a multi-yard hull construction model — the first time the contractor has partnered with SHI-ME on an FPSO hull fabrication programme. Ide said the arrangement "expands execution flexibility and strengthens our global delivery capabilities."

The model enables parallel fabrication across two yards, optimises yard capacity, and supports project execution while maintaining quality and safety standards. The approach compresses the critical path between hull cut and integration by running fabrication in parallel rather than sequentially.

Where does the NGH design fit?

The Gato do Mato unit will be the first FPSO built to MODEC's next-generation hull (NGH) design, engineered to improve constructability, scalability and execution efficiency for increasingly complex offshore developments. Ide said the NGH supports the contractor's commitment to "delivering smarter, more resilient solutions for our clients."

The hull geometry is structured to scale to increasingly complex offshore developments, MODEC noted, beyond the Santos Basin anchor project.

Where will the unit moor?

The FPSO will operate in approximately 2,000 metres of water about 200 km south of Rio de Janeiro, using a SOFEC spread mooring system. Shell's Brazilian subsidiary operates the licence; Ecopetrol is a partner and PPSA manages the production sharing contract.

The underlying discovery is a pre-salt gas-condensate accumulation crossing two contiguous blocks:

• BM-S-54, a concession contract Shell signed in 2005
• Sul de Gato do Mato, a production sharing agreement obtained in 2017

Shell took final investment decision on the project in March 2025 and awarded Sumitomo the hull contract in April 2025. The vessel is therefore a sanctioned project, not an appraisal-stage scheme, with first oil tied to the integration schedule now running in China.

How does Gato do Mato rank in MODEC's Brazil fleet?

Gato do Mato will be MODEC's 19th FPSO or FSO developed for the Brazilian market and the second unit the contractor delivers directly to Shell for operation.

It follows the FPSO contracted for the Orca field — another Santos Basin pre-salt development carried out by Shell and Ecopetrol, with PPSA as PSC manager.

The gas-condensate mix at Gato do Mato differentiates the project from heavier pre-salt oil developments elsewhere in Santos and Campos, adding topsides processing steps that the heavier-oil FPSOs in the contractor's existing fleet do not require.

What to watch

The critical path now runs through the Chinese integration yard: mating of forward and aft hulls, topsides lifting, commissioning and sea trials precede sail-away to Brazil. MODEC has not disclosed a sail-away target, leaving the commissioning schedule for the 120,000 bopd unit as the next commercial milestone the industry will track.