Workforce
Borouge Plc employs more than 2,900 people, with extra contractor staff during project phases.
Three engineering and construction contracts worth about US$2.6 billion were signed for Borouge 3, including two polyethylene units, two polypropylene units and a 350,000 tonne a year LDPE unit. Hydrocarbon feedstocks and polymer powder give gas and dust classification, and the Borouge 4 expansion is bringing new plants onstream, including an XLPE plant that delivered its first customer batch in September 2026. This page explains what to look for in an Ex-proof mobile phone for Borouge at Ruwais, 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 Borouge at Ruwais: 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ex marking | Group, category, protection concept, gas group, temperature class | II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 (target) |
| Gas group | IIA, IIB or IIC matched to the area drawing | IIC (target) |
| Temperature class | T-class below the ignition temperature of the gas | T4, 135 °C (target) |
| Where it applies | Borouge at Ruwais: Olefin and polyolefin process units, Polymer powder handling (Zone 21), Feedstock and gas storage | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Borouge Petrochemical. 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.
Borouge Plc employs more than 2,900 people, with extra contractor staff during project phases.
Borouge 4 will add 1.4 million tonnes of capacity and make Ruwais the world's largest single-site polyolefin complex; it is operated by Borouge Plc on behalf of its owners ADNOC and OMV, so contractor activity continues during commissioning.
UAE handsets need type approval from the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, which introduced a new type approval mark taking effect on 1 January 2023.
Borouge employs more than 3,000 people of over 40 nationalities, so safety instructions and handset menus may need to work for a multilingual crew.
The complex produces polyethylene and polypropylene using Borstar and Borlink technologies for packaging, infrastructure, energy, mobility, agriculture and healthcare uses, so both gas feedstock and polymer powder are handled.
Borouge was founded in 1998 through a partnership between ADNOC and Borealis to build and operate a petrochemical complex in Al Ruwais Industrial City.
“Ex-proof” is shorthand for equipment carrying an explosion-protection marking (the Ex mark) that matches the area it enters. The marking states the protection concept, gas or dust group and temperature class, and it must be backed by a certificate issued by a recognised body, so a phone described as Ex-proof should come with a certificate number you can check.
The IS-04Z1 is designed to carry the marking II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4. That is a target: certification is in progress, no certificate has been issued, and SAMS will publish the certificate numbers when they exist.
In Borouge at Ruwais. A marking check at Borouge would compare each unit's classification with the equipment marking. Gas and feedstock storage and olefin units may be Zone 1, while polymer powder handling may be Zone 21. The IS-04Z1 target, II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4, is a gas marking and still in progress; dust areas need separate assessment.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
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.
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.
The marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4. It becomes a marking only when the certificate is issued; until then it is a design target.
Likely candidates are olefin and polyolefin process units, polymer powder handling (zone 21), feedstock and gas storage, utilities and pipelines. 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.
Typically flammable gas and liquid hydrocarbons in the cracker and reactor areas, plus combustible polymer powder and dust in handling, silo and bagging areas. Classification is set by the operator, so ask for gas group, temperature class and dust-zone drawings before specifying devices.
It adds new polyethylene, polypropylene and LDPE units, so construction and commissioning crews join the operating plant. Typically that means more contractor induction, tighter permit control and temporary classified areas; check requirements with the project's main contractor.
Ruwais has a hot, humid Gulf coast climate, so outdoor equipment should cope with heat and salt air. The IS-04Z1 is designed to IP68 with a 4,000 mAh battery, but no hot-weather runtime has been published. Ask for the datasheet and check operating limits with Borouge.
Other guides for Borouge Petrochemical, other places in United Arab Emirates, 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.