Industrial concentration
The northern part of the island is an industrial area, with oil storage in the south and a gas pipeline link to Saudi Arabia.
Sitra is an island on the east side of Bahrain Island whose northern part is an industrial area. East Sitra City, a reclamation project off the eastern coast, increased the island's size by about 50 percent and hosts new residential development. An ATEX and IECEx smartphone distributor in Sitra, Bahrain would carry the IS-04Z1 to these buyers once certification completes.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Sitra, Bahrain 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.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. 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 | Sitra, Bahrain: Hydrogen and hydrocracking units, Sulphur recovery units, Gas pipeline terminus | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Sitra. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
A short profile of the site and the kinds of classified area that matter for portable equipment.
The northern part of the island is an industrial area, with oil storage in the south and a gas pipeline link to Saudi Arabia.
The site is coastal, hot and humid, so corrosion and dust are routine concerns for portable electronics.
The Bahrain Extrusion Company has operated an aluminium extrusion plant in the Sitra industrial zone since March 1977, so metal-working sits alongside oil facilities.
Sitra is an island about 5 km south of Manama, and its northern section has been turned into an industrial area.
In 2018 Bapco commissioned a new pipeline to replace pipeline infrastructure more than 70 years old between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Construction work on an upgrade of Bapco's Sitra refinery started in March 2019, including a new resid hydrocracking unit planned to be operational by 2023.
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 Sitra, Bahrain. Contractors completing final units at the modernised Bapco Sitra refinery are likely to meet reviewers who ask for certificate evidence per handset, covering both the equipment and its stated limits. A dual ATEX and IECEx route is designed to ease that for international EPCs. For the IS-04Z1 no certificate exists yet; this is work in progress.
A distributor for Sitra, Bahrain would carry the IS-04Z1 after certification completes; the Q4 2026 launch is the planning date and no appointment has been made. SAMS reviews applicants one by one and prefers companies with their own Ex-competent technical and service staff, since certified devices must not be repaired outside approved channels.
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 refinery process units, crude and product storage, hydrogen and hydrocracking units, sulphur recovery units. 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 Sitra, Bahrain.
Aluminium extrusion and metal-working can produce metal dust in some processes, so some areas may have dust classification; the refinery is mostly gas and vapour. Ask the operator for its dust zone survey.
A bridge built in the 1930s links the island to Bahrain Island, and Manama is about 5 km away. Contractors normally go through each operator's gate with induction and permits.
Usually only if the operator's permit-to-work and equipment rules allow it, and for classified areas only if the device carries a suitable Ex marking. Refinery contractors generally follow the operator's registration systems. Confirm current requirements with the site operator before mobilising any fleet.
More on Sitra, and on other places in Bahrain.
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.