Permits
Access to oilfield sites is normally by operator-issued permit, so plan visits and deliveries ahead.
Kirkuk is the centre of northern Iraq's oil industry; the Baba Gurgur discovery in 1927 launched exports from the Kirkuk field. The field had over 10 billion barrels of proven remaining reserves in 1998, so it is a mature, large-scale operation with legacy infrastructure. An ATEX and IECEx mobile phone distributor in Kirkuk would carry the IS-04Z1 to these buyers once certification completes.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Kirkuk has no appointed SAMS distributor yet: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued, launch planned for Q4 2026), and distributor applications are open.
Status: pre-launch. IECEx, ATEX, UKEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued; launch is planned for Q4 2026. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Marking | II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 on the rating plate | Design target; not yet marked |
| EU-type examination certificate | Notified body number and certificate ID | In progress with TÜV; not issued |
| IECEx certificate of conformity | Number listed on the IECEx online register | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Kirkuk: Wellheads and gathering stations, Gas processing, Crude pumping and pipeline facilities | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Kirkuk. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The companies on site and the hazardous-area types a handset is likely to meet there.
Access to oilfield sites is normally by operator-issued permit, so plan visits and deliveries ahead.
Summers are extremely hot and dry, with record highs above 50 C, and winters are mild with moderate rain.
Kirkuk field was discovered at Baba Gurgur in 1927 and brought into production in 1934 when export pipelines were completed, and it has remained the most important part of northern Iraq's output.
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude pipeline runs about 970 km to the Turkish coast with two lines of 46 and 40 inches and a combined design capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day, making it Iraq's largest export line.
Iraq's winters are cooler and wetter, with average temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius, and the north sometimes falls below freezing.
Kirkuk has a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen and Arabs, so crews and local contractors may work in Arabic, Kurdish or Turkmen, and clear multilingual instructions help.
ATEX is the European legal framework for equipment used in explosive atmospheres (Directive 2014/34/EU). IECEx is the international certification scheme built on the IEC 60079 standards. Buyers outside Europe often ask for both: an IECEx certificate is the technical evidence most national regimes build on, while ATEX is the legal route into the European market.
For the IS-04Z1 both routes are in progress with TÜV in Germany and neither certificate has been issued. The marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4: equipment Group II (surface industry), Category 2 (Zone 1 gas), protection concept ib (intrinsic safety), gas group IIC and temperature class T4.
In Kirkuk. Work in Kirkuk centres on rehabilitation, maintenance and redevelopment of long-producing fields, which brings in international contractors alongside the North Oil Company. Their reviewers commonly ask for both ATEX and IECEx evidence for handhelds. A dual route avoids reworking paperwork per contractor. The IS-04Z1 has no certificate yet, as certification is in progress.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Kirkuk. Each application is reviewed on its merits. Because opening a certified Ex handset in an ordinary workshop invalidates its certificate, the partner must be able to support and service the device locally.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
Not yet. Both routes are in progress with TÜV in Germany and no certificate has been issued. Any listing that says otherwise is wrong.
Likely candidates are wellheads and gathering stations, gas processing, crude pumping and pipeline facilities. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Apply through the distributor page with your company details and the territory you cover. SAMS reviews applications company by company and has not yet granted a territory for Kirkuk.
BP signed a preliminary agreement for four Kirkuk-region fields, with a profit-sharing model reported. The detailed timing and scope depend on final contracts, so check status with the operator.
Oil wells, gathering stations, separators, storage tanks, and gas processing and flare systems across the Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields. Zones are set by the operator for each facility.
The equipment depends on the area classification, not the age of the field. Rehabilitation and well work may open or alter classified areas, so the operator's current zone drawings apply. Ask the operator for them before selecting a device, whatever the field's history.
Other guides for Kirkuk, other places in Iraq, and the pages behind them.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.