Environment
The semi-arid setting has hot, sunny summers and cool, dry winters with strong winds. Crews often drive long distances between sites.
Midland and Odessa began as railroad stations halfway between Dallas and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific line, sit about 20 miles apart and are jointly promoted as Two Cities, No Limits. Zone 1 work arises in the surrounding fields at wellsites, tank batteries, compressor stations and gas plants rather than in the cities themselves. If you are specifying an Ex-proof mobile phone for Midland and Odessa, Texas, 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 Midland and Odessa, Texas: 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Midland and Odessa, Texas: Wellsites and tank batteries, Drilling rigs, Compressor stations | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Midland Odessa. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The companies on site and the hazardous-area types a handset is likely to meet there.
The semi-arid setting has hot, sunny summers and cool, dry winters with strong winds. Crews often drive long distances between sites.
Midland is described as a major centre of US oil and natural gas production, and Odessa's economy has been driven mainly by the oil industry. Midland International Air and Space Port serves both cities.
The shale boom of the early 2010s revived the area after the 1980s oil bust, with manufacturing, transport and construction firms largely serving the energy industry.
Midland International Air and Space Port is located between the two cities and gives direct access for visiting engineers, while general aviation uses Midland Airpark.
The Midland metro area had about 170,000 residents and the combined Midland-Odessa area about 340,000 at the 2020 census, and Midland recorded the lowest US unemployment rate in 2014 at 2.3 percent.
Midland has a hot semi-arid climate with about 13.5 inches of rain a year, highs above 90 degrees Fahrenheit on roughly 115 afternoons and 100 degrees or more on about 24.
“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 Midland and Odessa, Texas. A marking check for a wellsite or compressor station would compare zone, gas group and temperature class with the operator's classification. The IS-04Z1 target marking is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 for Zone 1 gas. Natural gas and oil vapours may not need the widest group, but the operator decides what is acceptable at each site.
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.
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 wellsites and tank batteries, drilling rigs, compressor stations, gas processing plants. 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.
Midland International Air and Space Port sits between the two cities and is the closest airport; most visitors connect through a larger Texas hub. Allow for long road transfers because the Permian Basin covers about 86,000 square miles.
Oilfield sites are spread over a large area with wellpads, tank batteries and gas processing plants, so lone-worker and coverage requirements often matter as much as area classification. Confirm classified zones and approval rules with each operator.
Producers and service contractors usually buy through their own procurement or field contractors, so the buyer may be a service company rather than the operator. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch with no certificate. Ask the relevant site operator which approvals apply to contractor devices.
Related guides for Midland Odessa and for United States.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.