Gas export
Pre-salt gas reaches the onshore Boaventura plant at Itaborai through the Rota 3 pipeline.
Associated gas in some pre-salt fields contains more than 20 percent CO2, which is separated on the FPSO, compressed and reinjected, so gas compression and high-pressure CO2 handling are routine offshore. Its FPSOs create Zone 1 areas on process decks and in storage and offloading areas. This page explains what to look for in an Ex-proof smartphone for Santos Basin, 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 Santos Basin: 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. 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 | Santos Basin: Platform process modules, Wellhead areas, Gas compression and export | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Santos Basin. 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.
Pre-salt gas reaches the onshore Boaventura plant at Itaborai through the Rota 3 pipeline.
Fields use FPSOs; Buzios alone reached 1 million barrels of oil equivalent a day operated with six platforms.
Giant fields found since 2007 include Tupi (about 8 billion barrels), Jupiter (about 1.6 billion barrels and 17 trillion cubic feet of gas) and Libra, estimated at 8 to 12 billion recoverable barrels.
Pre-salt reservoirs are ultra-deep carbonates, roughly 5,000 to 7,000 m total depth below a thick salt seal, which drives the high-pressure, high-temperature design of wells and topsides.
Santos, Guaruja and Ilhabela sit in the central onshore part of the basin, and the city of Rio de Janeiro is on the northern coastal edge, so supply bases cluster along that coast.
The basin is known for thick salt layers that deform into structures in the subsurface, and the pre-salt Tupi reservoir sits in microbialite carbonates of the Guaratiba Group beneath that salt.
“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 Santos Basin. The sheet notes Zone 1 areas on process decks and in storage and offloading areas. Gas export from the pre-salt adds gas compression to the mix. A label check compares zone, gas group and temperature class with each unit's classification. The IS-04Z1 target marking II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 is not yet certified.
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.
There is no list price yet. SAMS gives indicative pre-launch pricing in writing, against a stated quantity and site, and does not commit to a lead time before certification completes.
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 platform process modules, wellhead areas, gas compression and export, offloading areas. 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 the turret and riser area, process and gas treatment decks, compression and CO2 handling areas, crude storage and offloading, and helideck fuel. Zones, gas groups and temperature classes are on the unit's classification drawings, so request them before choosing handheld devices.
The basin lies roughly 300 km southeast of Santos and the best-known discoveries are far offshore in deep water, so crew changes are mainly by helicopter and supply is by vessel. Confirm carry-on rules for powered devices with the operator.
Pre-salt units are far offshore, so crews and equipment move by helicopter and supply vessel. Spares need planning in advance. Confirm approvals, documentation and delivery routes with the operator and its contractors before relying on offshore replacement.
More on Santos Basin, and on other places in Brazil.
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.