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. Distribution partners for Port Harcourt are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Port Harcourt 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.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. 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 | Port Harcourt: Export and port facilities, Pipeline and pumping facilities, Refinery process units | 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.
The oil sector contributed about 9% of Nigeria's GDP as of February 2021, and the petroleum industry has supported the national budget since 1960.
Oil companies with offices in Port Harcourt include Shell, Chevron and Agip, so contractors and suppliers often deal with international operator procedures in the city.
Nigeria is the largest oil and gas producer in Africa, and Niger Delta crude is paraffinic and low in sulphur, with lighter grades around API 36 and heavier ones at 20-25.
The city's economy turned to petroleum when the first shipment of Nigerian crude oil was exported through it in 1958, which is why it remains a base for the Niger Delta oil industry.
“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 Port Harcourt. At a flow station, gas plant or pumping site, a marking check reads zone, gas group and temperature class on the label and compares each with the operator's classification records. Associated gas and crude handling bring a range of gas groups, so the target marking II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 is compared with the site's drawings.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Port Harcourt yet and applications are reviewed company by company. Because a certified Ex device cannot be opened by an ordinary phone workshop without invalidating its certificate, SAMS looks for partners who can provide competent technical support and after-sales service locally.
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.
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 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.
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 Port Harcourt.
It is hot, humid and wet for much of the year, so check the maximum ambient temperature on the certificate, the water ingress rating and sealing of ports and charging contacts. Corrosion from humid, salt-laden air is common, so choose devices with robust seals and clean them regularly.
International operators commonly work to IEC 60079 and ask for IECEx or ATEX certification, but each company has its own approval and registration route. Ask the procurement and HSE teams for the approved equipment list, and prepare certificates, marking photos and instructions for the submission.
The old refinery reopened in November 2024 but was shut for maintenance in May 2025, and status changes often. Check its current operating state before planning visits or quoting. Confirm the position with the site operator or Port Harcourt Refining Company.
More on Port Harcourt, and on other places in Nigeria.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.