Refinery status
The old refinery reopened in November 2024 but was shut for maintenance in May 2025; check its current operating state before planning visits.
Port Harcourt is the main city of Rivers State and Nigeria's chief oil-refining city, with the Port Harcourt Refining Company complex at Eleme and seaports at Onne and the city wharf. Crude was first exported through the port in 1958, and many operators keep offices here. If you are specifying an ATEX and IECEx smartphone for Port Harcourt, this page covers the markings, the approvals and the current certification status of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Port Harcourt: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. 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 | Port Harcourt: Refinery process units, Flow stations and gas plants, Export and port facilities | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Port Harcourt. 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.
The old refinery reopened in November 2024 but was shut for maintenance in May 2025; check its current operating state before planning visits.
Many facilities are in low-lying creek and swamp areas reached by road or boat.
Onne, in Eleme, hosts the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, a main offshore support base where supply vessels call every week and where Shell and other operators lease berths and shore facilities.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company at Alesa Eleme runs two refineries, a 1965 plant of 60,000 barrels per stream day and a 1989 plant of 150,000, giving 210,000 barrels per stream day combined.
Shell-BP found oil at Oloibiri in 1956 and discovered the Afam and Bomu wells in Ogoni territory in the same period, so the region around Port Harcourt has among Nigeria's oldest producing areas.
Port Harcourt was founded in 1912 to export coal from Enugu, 243 km to the north, over the Eastern Line railway, so it was a port city long before oil.
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 Port Harcourt. Many operators keep offices in Port Harcourt, so reviewers there see contractor packs from a wide range of firms, including international EPCs. ATEX and IECEx evidence together give them a familiar basis for assessing a handheld at flow stations and gas plants. The IS-04Z1 has no certificate yet, as certification is in progress.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Not today. Until the certificates are issued the IS-04Z1 stays out of classified areas, and until launch there is nothing to purchase. You can ask for the datasheet and the certification schedule, or book a safe-area evaluation unit.
No price is published. While certification is in progress there is no list price and no committed lead time, and a supplier quoting a firm figure for an uncertified Ex handset is promising something it cannot stand behind. Indicative pre-launch pricing is issued in writing against a stated 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, flow stations and gas plants, export and port facilities, pipeline and pumping facilities. 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.
Equipment commonly arrives through the Lagos ports or airport and then moves by road or air, or through the Port Harcourt area port facilities, depending on the shipment. Allow time for clearance and security arrangements, and agree site access and device registration with the operator beforehand.
It is a base for the Niger Delta oil industry: the first shipment of Nigerian crude left through the port in 1958 and operators such as Shell, Chevron and Agip have offices there. Wellsites, flow stations and terminals are around the city, so confirm each site's rules.
Many facilities are in low-lying creek and swamp areas reached by road or boat. Plan transport with the operator or contractor, protect devices from rain and spray, and keep spare units charged in a safe area. Confirm access rules with the site operator.
Other guides for Port Harcourt, other places in Nigeria, and the pages behind them.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.