Norwegian floater specialist BW Offshore has secured a limited notice to proceed from Shell for early-stage engineering and supplier reservations covering the supply of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Gato do Mato oil and gas field offshore Brazil.
BW Offshore said the deal is valued up to $50m and, upon completion, Shell and its partners target to award a lease and operate contract to a consortium comprising BW Offshore and Italy’s Saipem, which will be jointly responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of the FPSO with expected delivery in 2026.Â
The company added that the award is subject to the parties finalising the commercial and pricing terms of the contract in view of the current inflationary supply chain market and a final investment decision to proceed by Shell and its partners. The FPSO lease and operating contract will have a firm period of 18 years with seven years of options.
“We have a clear strategy of developing and operating infrastructure type floating production solutions with long-term contracts and investment grade counterparties. Gato do Mato is a robust project meeting all our requirements,” said Marco Beenen, CEO of BW Offshore, adding: “We will replicate the Barossa project model (pictured), bringing in equity partners, and take it one step further by partnering with Saipem for the EPCI phase to add execution capacity and capabilities.”
