Grangemouth
The refinery stopped processing crude in 2025 and is becoming a fuels import terminal, while the adjacent INEOS complex continues to run the UK's last operating ethylene cracker.
Scotland has a long oil, gas and petrochemical base. Hazardous-area work arises at the Grangemouth petrochemical complex on the Firth of Forth, the Mossmorran site in Fife and the St Fergus gas terminal in Aberdeenshire. Several of these sites are in transition. This page explains what to look for in an ATEX and IECEx smartphone for Scotland, 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 Scotland: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. An operator's own vendor approval is a separate step. 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 | Scotland: Petrochemical process units, Natural gas liquids plant, Gas terminals | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Scotland. 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 refinery stopped processing crude in 2025 and is becoming a fuels import terminal, while the adjacent INEOS complex continues to run the UK's last operating ethylene cracker.
Shell's Fife NGL plant separates natural gas liquids. ExxonMobil's Fife Ethylene Plant ceased production in February 2026 and is due to be decommissioned, so activity there is shifting to closure work.
The North Sea Transition Authority regulates licensing, and OPRED regulates environmental and decommissioning activity for offshore oil and gas, so offshore work answers to UK regulators rather than Scottish bodies.
Grangemouth Refinery on the Firth of Forth began operating in 1924 and was the only crude oil refinery in Scotland, but it has now closed; its neighbouring petrochemical complex dates from 1951.
Of about 25,000 jobs directly dependent on offshore oil and gas in 2019, 98% were in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, so equipment demand and contractor skills cluster in the north-east.
In 2022 oil and gas extraction contributed an estimated 25.2 billion pounds of gross value added, about 11.8% of Scottish GDP, which keeps offshore and terminal work a major source of hazardous-area activity.
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 Scotland. A reviewer in Scotland would expect certificate evidence tied to the operator's DSEAR assessment at Grangemouth, Mossmorran or St Fergus. With Shell, INEOS and others employing international contractors, a dual ATEX and IECEx route is designed to help. Both certifications remain in progress for SAMS, and none has been issued.
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 petrochemical process units, natural gas liquids plant, gas terminals, fuel import and storage terminal. 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.
Offshore installations in the UK sector normally expect equipment certified for explosive atmospheres under UK rules, and CE-marked ATEX equipment has been widely accepted under transitional arrangements. Operators also add their own policies, so confirm the accepted marking and any site-specific approvals with the duty holder.
Decommissioning of ageing North Sea installations is forecast to grow as production declines, and it involves cleaning, cutting and removal of hydrocarbon systems in classified areas. Teams often need portable communications that are certified for the area, so confirm requirements with the operator or decommissioning contractor.
The Grangemouth petrochemical complex on the Firth of Forth, Mossmorran in Fife and the St Fergus gas terminal in Aberdeenshire. Several are in transition, so activity may be shifting. Confirm current requirements with the site operator before planning equipment.
Other guides for Scotland, other places in United Kingdom, 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.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.