Azerbaijan: background
Construction began in 1996 with the Early Oil Project and oil was first exported in October 1997, after which ACG oil trains, a BTC pumping station and the Shah Deniz gas plant were added.
A Zone 1 / Zone 21 smartphone for crews on the Caspian platforms, the Sangachal terminal, the Baku refinery and the petrochemical plants at Sumgait. This page sets out how an Ex-proof smartphone supply route to Azerbaijan will work for the IS-04Z1, and what is and is not available before launch.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. An Ex-proof smartphone for Azerbaijan cannot be bought yet: the SAMS IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued), and the datasheet, certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
Status: pre-launch. IECEx, ATEX, UKEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued; launch is planned 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 | Azerbaijan: Absheron peninsula, Port of Baku, Alat, Sangachal terminal | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Azerbaijan. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Operators and classified areas drawn from the SAMS Azerbaijan market guide.
Construction began in 1996 with the Early Oil Project and oil was first exported in October 1997, after which ACG oil trains, a BTC pumping station and the Shah Deniz gas plant were added.
Sangachal Terminal is on the Caspian coast 45 kilometres south of Baku and covers about 500 hectares, forming the main shore base for the offshore fields.
The terminal is operated by a BP-led consortium and receives oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field and gas from Shah Deniz.
Wireless products need type approval from the telecom authority, listed by a compliance agent as the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, and approval is described as mandatory.
“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 Azerbaijan. A marking check around the Caspian would read gas group, T class and ambient range against the area drawings. Hydrocarbon service is typically Group IIA and IIB, so the target of II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 sits above it, and one specification would run from a platform to the terminal and refinery. The ambient range must suit cold winters and hot summers.
Nothing can be bought for Azerbaijan today: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch, and SAMS will supply end users through authorised distributors once certificates exist. What a buyer can do now is take the specification, ask for the written certification schedule and arrange a safe-area evaluation, so that the right local channel contacts you at launch.
The technical specification, marking target and conditions of use, sent by email.
Which certificates are in progress, in what order, and what is still to be confirmed.
Evaluation units can be used for connectivity, MDM enrolment and workflow testing outside classified areas.
Tell us the site, zone, gas group and quantity so the right authorised distributor can contact you.
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.
The market guide for Azerbaijan covers Sangachal terminal, ACG and Shah Deniz, offshore, Baku, Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
The BP-led operating consortium sets site HSE, permit and equipment rules, applying its own standards on top of national requirements. Contractors normally follow the operator's induction and approved-equipment procedures, so ask the operator's HSE team which certificates and registers apply.
A compliance agent describes type approval from the national telecom authority as mandatory for products with wireless components, with an average lead time of about three weeks and no label or sample requirement. Treat this as a guide and confirm current rules with the ministry or a local agent.
Android 16 offers Azerbaijani, Russian and English language settings, and documentation in those three languages is expected on site. Whether a given operator requires one of them specifically is a procurement question. Ask the operator or the locally registered supply partner before the evaluation, so the documentation set matches what site safety teams will request.
Other guides for Azerbaijan, other places in Azerbaijan, and the pages behind them.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.