Shell invests in the Gato do Mato project in Brazil’s pre-salt

Shell Brasil has taken the Final Investment Decision (FID) for Gato do Mato, a deep-water project in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The Gato do Mato project covers 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.

Initial operations will involve the reinjection of natural gas for reservoir pressure support, with future optionality to export gas to onshore facilities. The development plan includes the installation of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and is designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Current estimated recoverable resource volumes of the Gato do Mato development are approximately 370 million barrels.

The Gato do Mato Consortium includes Shell (operator with a 50% stake), Ecopetrol (30%), TotalEnergies (20%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) acting as the manager of the production sharing contract. The consortium anticipates that the Gato do Mato field will commence operations in 2029.