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The MO26 Brazilian pre-salt FPSO, officially named Alexandre de Gusmão, reached full production at the Mero field, in the Santos Basin, and increased the consortium’s total capacity to 770 thousand barrels per day. The vessel is the fourth unit of the Mero project and stores 1.4 million barrels of oil, a class that places Brazil at the top of the global FPSO industry.
According to Marine Insight, the MO26 is 335.31 meters long and 60 meters wide, dimensions equivalent to TotalEnergies’ Egina in Nigeria. In parallel, its draft exceeds 33 meters, and its total tonnage makes it the largest FPSO in the world by this metric.
The vessel was built by COSCO Qidong Offshore in China’s Jiangsu province, with an SBM Offshore Fast4Ward design. In parallel, it departed China on December 16, 2024, and arrived in Brazil in March 2025, in a convoy that set a new towing record on the Yangtze River.
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The numbers for MO26 and the Mero project, according to Petrobras, SBM Offshore, and Offshore Technology, tell the story in five points:
- 180,000 barrels/day of oil production capacity from MO26 alone
- 12 million m³/day of processed natural gas, a capacity superior to P-78/P-79
- 1.4 million barrels of storage, in the same class as the largest FPSOs on the planet
- 250,000 barrels/day of water injection for reservoir pressure maintenance
- 2,000 meters operating depth, pre-salt ultradeepwater environment
The MO26 Brazilian pre-salt FPSO from the inside: modules, storage, and production
The MO26 is anchored 160 kilometers offshore Arraial do Cabo, in Rio de Janeiro. According to official data, it operates in a water depth of approximately 2,000 meters, a typical depth for the Brazilian pre-salt.
The anchoring system is spread mooring, with fixed cables distributed on the seabed. In parallel, this configuration keeps the hull stable despite the deep currents and swells of the South Atlantic.
The topside brings together 15 modules with about 33 thousand tons of equipment. According to the manufacturer COSCO Qidong, these modules were assembled in parallel with the hull to reduce the overall project schedule.
Production reaches 180 thousand barrels daily, with simultaneous processing of 12 million cubic meters of natural gas. In parallel, the injection of 250 thousand barrels of water daily ensures sufficient pressure to keep oil flowing from the reservoir.
The MO26 also integrates HISEP (High Pressure Separation) technology, according to Petrobras. This solution separates CO₂-rich gas directly on the seabed and reinjects the unwanted gas directly into the rock, without rising to the vessel’s deck.
Mero, Brazil’s third-largest pre-salt field, now hits 770 thousand barrels/day
The Mero field was discovered in 2010 in the Libra block, within the Santos Basin. According to Offshore Technology, it is located 180 kilometers offshore Rio de Janeiro, in deep waters ranging between 1,900 and 2,100 meters.
Estimated reserves reach 3.3 billion recoverable barrels, according to the operating consortium. In parallel, the production sharing agreement was signed in December 2013 and has Petrobras as the operator with 38.6%.
The partners are Shell Brasil (19.3%), TotalEnergies (19.3%), CNPC (9.65%), CNOOC (9.65%), and the Brazilian PPSA (3.5%, representing the federal government). The Chinese presence via CNPC and CNOOC totals 19.3%, the same proportion as Shell or Total.
Field production evolved in phases. According to Offshore Energy, the Pioneiro de Libra pilot system delivered 50 thousand barrels/day since 2017, and the definitive FPSOs arrived in sequence: Guanabara (Mero-1, April 2022), Sepetiba (Mero-2, 2023), Marechal Duque de Caxias (Mero-3, 2024), and now the Alexandre de Gusmão / MO26 (Mero-4, 2025).
With MO26 fully operational, the field’s total capacity hits 770 thousand barrels daily. In parallel, this places Mero as Petrobras’ third-largest oil field, behind only Tupi and Búzios, both in the pre-salt.
World’s largest FPSO by tonnage: what this means
The MO26 holds the title of the world’s largest FPSO by total tonnage, according to a report by
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