T he DEFEN DER

SUBSEA ISOLATION CAP

Universal Subsea’s revolutionary, patented, deepwater thermoplastic isolation cap
for subsea wellheads, subsea tubing head spools, and subsea tree mandrels.
• Completely isolates the mandrel bore, ring gasket profile, and
external connector profile from the subsea environment to
stop corrosion, calcareous deposits, scale, and marine growth
to greatly improve BOP and tree connector reliability.
• The first lightweight, ROV-installable subsea protector cap
with effective body seals to ensure reliable injection,
containment, and retention of preservation fluids.
• Defender models: All subsea wellheads and tubing head
spools with 27” H-4 profile. Many subsea trees with 27” H-4
profile; consult Universal Subsea for details. Isolation caps for
other subsea wellheads, tubing heads, subsea tree mandrels,
and jumper hubs available on special request.
• Installation and retrieval: ROV, wireline or drillpipe (with ROV
support). The first nonmetallic subsea protector cap that can
be run and retrieved on drillpipe or casing.
• Body material: One piece, thick wall, corrosion proof, high
performance, marine grade thermoplastic suitable for 11,000
ft. water depths and 25 year minimum operating life. Marine
grade plastic is extensively field proven for deepwater service.
• Locking system: High capacity ROV lockscrews (3) provide
positive locking to H-4 profile that will not slip due to internal
pressure loads, are resistant to damage or overloading by the
ROV, sealed to contain pressure, resistant to jamming and
galling, and also provide an emergency release feature.
• Body seals and fluid barriers: Two chamber containment
W ellhead Defender
system with tertiary annular protection provides four barriers
Subsea Isolation Cap
for the ring gasket profile and mandrel bore to the cathodic
U.S. Patents 10,907,433, 11,142,983,
protection system, with two barriers for the connector profile. 11,220,877 and 11,592,106.
Special body seals reliably seal large gaps to the mandrel while Additional patents pending.
providing low forces for ROV installation and retrieval.
• Fluid injection: API 17H hot stab receptacle with multiple check valves and stainless steel piping.
Wellhead applications use a collapse resistant stinger hose that sets the fluid injection depth. Subsea
tree and tubing head caps use our exclusive, dual fluid injection system (patent pending), with high
density fluid injected in the primary chamber and lightweight fluid injected in the secondary chamber and
tertiary annulus. Piping conversion kits are available to convert wellhead cap to dual fluid injection.
• Product verification and testing: The first lightweight, low pressure subsea protector cap to comply with
API 6A/17D PR2 pressure test criteria. The first low pressure cap to comply with API 6A/17D engineering
requirements for pressure containing equipment (i.e. bodies, bonnets, housings).

© 2023 Universal Subsea, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 2

 Background information about subsea protector caps:
• Low cost subsea protector cap are commonly used for $100+ million subsea wells that allow equipment
deterioration and are often missing when the rig returns. The ring gasket profile and external connector
profile of the subsea wellhead/tree will corrode and accumulate deposits or marine growth.
• Most subsea protector caps are low cost debris caps with substandard
locking and sealing features. Many caps lack body seals, and some caps
lack a locking system. As a result, simple protector caps often end up
missing or dislodged from the wellhead or tree mandrel. In other cases,
protector caps have gotten stuck to the mandrel, or sucked into the
wellhead bore, requiring substantial rig time and cost to remove.
• ROV crews will scrub the ring gasket profile with motorized scrubbing
tools until they achieve a shiny, “scratch-free” surface, in a task typically
lasting up to 30 minutes, and over 2 hours in some cases. Ring gasket
profile scrubbing jobs lasting up to 7 days have been reported. Heavily corroded
subsea tree mandrel
• In our experience with subsea wellhead/tree design and manufacturing,
field ring gasket profile scrubbing for 30 minutes or more poses a risk that
the gas sealing performance of the wellhead or tree will be damaged.
Removal of heavy deposits or vertical scratches will pose a significant risk
that the profile will be out-of-round after cleaning, and no longer capable
of sealing gas with a standard all-metal ring gasket.
• Subsea wellhead and tree manufacturers do not certify sealing
performance of their products after field cleaning. ROV operators do not
certify sealing performance of equipment that they have cleaned, as they
will attribute issues to prior damage. In many cases the mandrel might
pass a gas test after cleaning. However, there is no way to verify gas Subsea tree becomes
sealing performance with a standard BOP connector, and the seawater deepwater shrimp and
pressure test will not verify gas sealing performance. marine life habitat

• Lightweight, long-lasting wellhead preservation fluids have not been commercially available until now,
with BOP or tree control fluids being most commonly used for wellhead corrosion caps and subsea tree
caps. However, subsea control fluids are heavier than seawater, fully soluble in seawater, and will
therefore dissipate rapidly in most cases when used for a subsea wellhead or tree protector cap.
• Operators spend thousands of dollars for low cost protector caps that are ineffective, many thousands
more for ROV remediation activities, while exposing the company to risks of permanently damaging their
equipment due to deterioration and subsequent cleaning activities.
• USI’s Defender subsea isolation cap and Defender Stasis preservation fluids provide the technology to
solve these problems, with significant cost savings, risk reduction, and increased subsea well life.

• Universal Subsea, Inc.

• 10685-B Hazelhurst Dr. #18825
Houston, TX 77043
•
Phone: 713-542-1262
• Email: sales@universalsubsea.com
Web: www.universalsubsea.com

USI Defender Isolation Cap PDS2-R1.6 © 2023 Universal Subsea, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 2