新型水下隔离装置 为深水开采保驾护航

Sean Thomas, P.E., general manager at Universal Subsea Inc., presented the company’s business plan and patent-pending Wellhead Defender subsea isolation cap at the Rice Alliance Startup Roundup at OTC on April 30. The 2018 OTC is being held at the NRG Park from April 30 to May 3 and is the offshore industry’s premier global event.

“We are pleased to have been selected by The Rice Alliance to present at this year’s OTC Startup Roundup, which showcased 40 promising emerging energy technology companies,” said Thomas. “At the seafloor, various types of corrosion and marine growth cause lost time, lost production and increased risk to the offshore E&P industry. I have witnessed these issues first hand, working for years with a major wellhead supplier and then as a Subject Matter Expert with a supermajor operator. I was determined to come up with a better subsea protector cap. Our Wellhead Defender subsea isolation cap is that solution, with numerous innovative features in the body design and the sealing, locking, and injection features, with 5 U.S. patents pending. Used in conjunction with our Defender Stasis isolation fluids, the Wellhead Defender subsea isolation cap effectively prevents corrosion and marine growth on critical sealing and locking features of subsea wellheads, preserving the subsea wellhead in a stasis condition. Our Tree Defender subsea isolation cap provides the same benefits for subsea tree applications.”

The Wellhead Defender subsea isolation cap is the first product of its kind. Universal Subsea spent over 2,000 hrs analyzing, selecting, testing and qualifying the one-piece, corrosion-proof, thermoplastic body.

In contrast, metal subsea protector caps can actually foster corrosion. Furthermore, competing subsea protector caps typically have ineffective body seals, allowing isolation fluid to quickly leak out to the ocean.

Over a 24-month development process, Universal Subsea Inc. solved the many pitfalls of existing subsea isolation cap technology, building and qualifying a solution that will bring new confidence to offshore E&P companies and service providers alike.

The deep ocean setting for subsea oil and gas wells is a hostile environment that can cause extensive damage to multi-million dollar subsea equipment due to corrosion, calcareous deposits, and marine growth.

DEFENDER SUBSEA ISOLATION CAP

Wellhead Defender Subsea Isolation Cap on H-4 Wellhead Test Fixture (multiple patents pending) 2019 Universal Subsea, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Universal Subsea’s advanced thermoplastic subsea isolation cap for subsea wellheads and subsea tree mandrels is the first protector cap to completely isolate the mandrel and internal bore from the subsea environment.  This unique protector cap utilizes thick wall plastic molding technology to provide space for oversized proprietary body seals which reliably seal very large gaps to the mandrel.  The special body seals effectively contain preservation fluids at low pressures while ensuring low installation forces for ROV deployment and retrieval.  The heavy duty ROV operated locking system ensures that the cap is positively locked to the mandrel while ensuring low risk of damage to the wellhead and the cap.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

USI’s subsea isolation cap and preservation fluid technologies provide substantial direct cost savings to offshore oil and gas companies:

• Eliminate/reduce wellhead cleaning/remediation: $4,000 – $250,000 savings
• Eliminate/reduce subsea tree cleaning/remediation (assumes 5 interventions): $40,000 – $1,200,000 savings
• Reduced risk of leaking ring gasket: $80,000 – $500,000 savings
• Eliminate risk of stuck protector cap: $14,000 – $3,000,000 savings
• Horizontal tree workover using light intervention vessel instead of drilling rig: $1,000,000 – $10,000,000 savings per intervention
• Eliminate hydrate problems with some common vertical trees: $150,000 – $500,000 savings per intervention
• Extend useable life of subsea production tree by 2 to 5 years: $40,000,000 to $300,000,000 in additional revenue

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

WELLHEAD DEFENDER SUBSEA ISOLATION CAP

USI’s deepwater thermoplastic subsea protector cap for new subsea wellhead installations and existing temporarily abandoned project wellheads.

• Completely isolates the subsea wellhead bore, VX ring gasket profile, and H-4 profile from the marine environment, thereby halting all corrosion, mineral deposits, and marine growth.
• Models: All subsea wellheads with 27” H-4 profile. Other sizes and models available upon special request.
• Body: High performance marine grade thermoplastic
• Installation: ROV, wireline or drillpipe
• Depth rating: up to 11,000 ft. [3353 m]
• Temperature rating: to 28°F [-2.2°C] minimum (colder Arctic ratings available upon request)
• Testing: First low pressure subsea wellhead protector cap to pass API 6A/17D PR2 pressure test criteria