en.Wedoany.com Reported - MODEC announced that the forward hull of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Gato do Mato, built for an offshore project in Brazil, has been completed, marking a key construction milestone for the project.

The forward hull, constructed by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering at the Yokosuka shipyard, has departed for China, where it will be integrated with the aft hull before proceeding to the next construction phase.

This project is the first application of MODEC's next-generation hull (NGH) design and marks the first collaboration between MODEC and Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering using a "multi-yard construction model" for building an FPSO hull. This model allows for parallel construction of hull sections.

The FPSO has a designed oil production capacity of approximately 120,000 barrels per day and is planned for deployment at the Orca field, located about 200 kilometers south of Rio de Janeiro in water depths of approximately 2,000 meters. The Orca field is being developed by operator Shell in partnership with Ecopetrol, with PPSA participating as the production sharing contract manager.

MODEC stated that this unit will be the 19th FPSO or floating storage unit it has developed and built for Brazil, and the second delivered directly to Shell.

Soichi Ide, Head of MODEC's Floating Production Solutions Business Unit, stated that this milestone represents not just the completion of a large hull section, but also demonstrates how innovation and collaboration are shaping the future of FPSO delivery. Through this first collaboration with Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering and the adoption of the multi-yard construction model, they are pioneering a new approach to hull construction that enhances execution flexibility and strengthens global delivery capabilities.