Climate
Hot desert climate with summer temperatures that can exceed 50 C.
Jubail Industrial City covers just over 1,000 square kilometres on the Gulf coast of the Eastern Province and is managed by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, established in 1975. Dammam's airport terminal is about 60 km by road from the Jubail suburbs, 80 km from the city centre and 100 km from the Royal Commission neighbourhoods. Distribution partners for Jubail Industrial City are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Jubail Industrial City 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.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. 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 | Jubail Industrial City: Storage and loading terminals, Port bulk handling, Utilities and gas processing | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Jubail. 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.
Hot desert climate with summer temperatures that can exceed 50 C.
The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu runs the industrial city; each plant operator sets its own contractor rules.
Jubail was a small fishing village until 1975, when the government chose it for a new industrial city, so nearly all plant infrastructure dates from the last 50 years.
Jubail had 474,679 residents in 2022, making it the third most populous city in the Eastern Province, so a large local workforce and service sector supports the plants.
Two main highways, the Dhahran to Jubail Highway and the Abu Hadriyah Highway, link the city to the rest of the Eastern Province.
The Royal Commission's chairman's office is in Riyadh, with separate directorates general in Jubail and Yanbu, so city-level services are run locally while plants set their own rules.
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 Jubail Industrial City. Jubail houses SABIC, SATORP, Sadara and other operators, so a reviewer may be a plant HSE engineer, a contractor's safety officer or an EPC specialist. Each would want certificate evidence that traces to the marking, and a dual ATEX and IECEx route helps when plants and contractors work to different references. The IS-04Z1 has no certificate yet.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Jubail Industrial City. 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.
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, petrochemical and chemical plants, storage and loading terminals, port bulk handling. 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 Jubail Industrial City.
Associated gas gathered by Aramco is piped to Jubail and Yanbu as petrochemical feedstock, so plants receive hydrocarbon feed by pipeline. That typically means compressor, metering and storage areas with gas classification; the operator defines the zones, so ask for classification drawings.
The Dammam airport terminal is about 60 km by road from the Jubail suburbs and around 80 km from the city centre. Visiting teams should allow road transfer time and confirm the transport and gate arrangements with the plant they are visiting.
Summer temperatures in Jubail can exceed 50 C, which is demanding for batteries and electronics. Check the datasheet operating range, avoid leaving handsets in vehicles, and ask the operator about any heat restrictions. IP68 helps against dust and splash but says nothing about heat tolerance or ignition protection.
Other guides for Jubail, other places in Saudi Arabia, and the pages behind them.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.