Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has announced the commencement of production at the FPSO Marechal Duque de Caxias in Brazil’s pre-salt Santos Basin.
This floating production storage and offloading facility, also known as Mero-3, marks a significant milestone in the development of the Mero field.
The FPSO Marechal Duque de Caxias boasts an impressive operational capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day.
Situated 200 kilometres off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the facility operates in water depths of 2,200 metres, showcasing the technological prowess required for deep-water oil extraction.
Zoë Yujnovich, Shell‘s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director, emphasised the strategic significance of this project, stating: “Mero-3 demonstrates our commitment to increasingly efficient and competitive projects.
“Brazil is a material contributor to Shell’s deep-water oil and gas production, and through our ongoing partnership with Petrobras in the Mero field, we can help continue to deliver safe and secure energy from one of the country’s most productive fields.”
The Mero-3 FPSO is the latest addition to Shell’s operations in the Mero field. It follows the successful launch of FPSO Sepetiba (Mero-2) in December 2023 and FPSO Guanabara (Mero-1) in May 2022.
This rapid succession of FPSO deployments underscores the field’s importance and productivity.
Shell Brasil holds a 19.3 per cent stake in the Mero Unitised Field.
The project is part of the Libra Consortium, which includes Petrobras as the operator with a 38.6 per cent stake, TotalEnergies (19.3 per cent), CNPC (9.65 per cent), CNOOC (9.65 per cent), and PPSA (3.5 per cent) representing the Brazilian government.
The FPSO incorporates advanced technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity by 30 per cent.
These include closed flare systems, cargo oil tank recovery, waste heat recovery, and variable speed drives for pumps and compressors.
With the addition of Mero-3, the total installed production capacity in the Mero field, including the Early Production System, now stands at an impressive 590,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
This development aligns with Shell’s commitment to deliver upstream and integrated gas projects with a total peak production exceeding 500,000 boe/d between 2023 and 2025.
The successful launch of FPSO Marechal Duque de Caxias reinforces Shell’s position in Brazil’s offshore oil sector and demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to efficient and sustainable energy production in one of the world’s most productive deep-water regions.
