Strathcona Refinery
Imperial's Strathcona Refinery opened in 1975, employs about 450 people and is reported at roughly 187,000 barrels per day.
Refinery Row, in Strathcona County east of Edmonton, includes Imperial Oil's Strathcona Refinery and a Suncor refinery. Crude processing units, tank farms and loading areas contain classified areas where Zone 1 and Zone 2 equipment is required. This page explains what to look for in an ATEX and IECEx mobile phone for Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row), and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row): pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted 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 | Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row): Refinery process units, Crude and product tank farms, Loading racks | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Edmonton Refinery. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
Imperial's Strathcona Refinery opened in 1975, employs about 450 people and is reported at roughly 187,000 barrels per day.
The area adjoins Alberta's Industrial Heartland, a 582 square kilometre zone dedicated to hydrocarbon processing, so contractors and service firms are close by.
Alberta's Industrial Heartland covers 533 km2 across Fort Saskatchewan, Lamont, Strathcona and Sturgeon counties, plus the 49 km2 Edmonton Energy and Technology Park, for a total of 582 km2 east of Edmonton.
A second concentration of refineries and upgraders lies around Scotford in Strathcona County, separate from Refinery Row, so the Edmonton area has more than one distinct industrial cluster.
Air quality across the Industrial Heartland is monitored by the not-for-profit Fort Air Partnership, formed in 1997, an indication of the continuous monitoring regime that operates around the plants.
Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association was founded in 1998 by Fort Saskatchewan, Lamont County, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County, and Edmonton joined in 2010.
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 Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row). A reviewer at Edmonton's Refinery Row, home to Imperial Oil's Strathcona Refinery and a Suncor refinery, would look for certificate evidence matched to process units, tank farms and loading racks. A dual route would help contractors who move among neighbouring plants. The IS-04Z1 is still in certification and holds no certificate.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
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 refinery process units, crude and product tank farms, loading racks, wastewater treatment. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Not exactly. Explosion proof is a broad everyday term; intrinsic safety is one protection concept, which limits energy so ignition cannot occur. Flameproof (Ex d) is a different concept that contains an explosion. The IS-04Z1 is intrinsically safe by design.
It is a 582 km2 cluster of refineries, upgraders and chemical plants east of Edmonton across several counties. Because many operators share the area, contractor induction and device rules differ by plant. Confirm site requirements before mobilising.
Typically the operator checks Ex certification marking, gas group and temperature class against the area classification, and may require Canadian recognition of the certificate. Confirm accepted schemes and approvals with the site's electrical authority.
It can be planned for, but turnaround work is run under the operator's permit system, which still controls hot work and entry. An intrinsically safe handheld may support inspection records and photos in classified areas once certified. Confirm with the operator which areas, zones and gas groups apply to each task.
More on Edmonton Refinery, and on other places in Canada.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.