Mossmorran
Shell's Fife NGL plant separates natural gas liquids. ExxonMobil's Fife Ethylene Plant ceased production in February 2026 and is due to be decommissioned, so activity there is shifting to closure work.
Scotland has a long oil, gas and petrochemical base. Of about 25,000 jobs directly dependent on offshore oil and gas in 2019, 98% were in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, so equipment demand and contractor skills cluster in the north-east. This page explains what to look for in an explosion proof mobile phone for Scotland, 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 Scotland: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Protection concept | Flameproof (Ex d) or intrinsic safety (Ex i) | Intrinsic safety, level ib |
| Zone suitability | Zone 1 gas and Zone 21 dust | Design target for Zone 1 and 21 |
| Certificate | Number, issuing body and schedule of conditions | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Scotland: Petrochemical process units, Natural gas liquids plant, Gas terminals | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Scotland. 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.
Shell's Fife NGL plant separates natural gas liquids. ExxonMobil's Fife Ethylene Plant ceased production in February 2026 and is due to be decommissioned, so activity there is shifting to closure work.
The terminal handles roughly a quarter of Britain's gas and sends natural gas liquids to Mossmorran. It is owned by North Sea Midstream Partners, with Shell, Esso and others as tenants.
In 2022 oil and gas extraction contributed an estimated 25.2 billion pounds of gross value added, about 11.8% of Scottish GDP, which keeps offshore and terminal work a major source of hazardous-area activity.
Scottish waters hold the largest oil resources in Western Europe; oil was discovered in the North Sea in 1966 and the first year of full production was 1976.
Hydrocarbon production is expected to fall to about a third of 2019 levels by 2035, and a global decommissioning market of around 67 billion pounds over ten years is forecast, so abandonment work is growing.
Shipbuilding remains significant, generating 403 million pounds of gross value added in 2022, alongside oil and gas, food and drink, energy and manufacturing among Scotland's primary industries.
“Explosion proof” is the phrase most buyers use for equipment that may be taken into a classified hazardous area. Strictly, it covers several protection concepts: a flameproof enclosure (Ex d) contains an internal explosion, while intrinsic safety (Ex i) limits electrical energy so that an ignition cannot start. Phones are normally intrinsically safe, because a flameproof handset would be too heavy to carry all shift.
The IS-04Z1 uses intrinsic safety, with a marking target of Ex ib IIC T4, and is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21. It is pre-launch, certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued.
In Scotland. In Scotland, 'explosion-proof' applies to very different areas: petrochemical process units, natural gas liquids plant and gas terminals. Flameproof Ex d is used for fixed equipment, while intrinsic safety suits a handheld on rounds. Operators such as INEOS, Shell and North Sea Midstream Partners set the concept area by area.
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.
It is intrinsically safe (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), which is the usual way to make a phone for hazardous areas. It is not a flameproof (Ex d) design, and certification is still in progress.
Likely candidates are petrochemical process units, natural gas liquids plant, gas terminals, fuel import and storage terminal. 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.
Offshore installations in the UK sector normally expect equipment certified for explosive atmospheres under UK rules, and CE-marked ATEX equipment has been widely accepted under transitional arrangements. Operators also add their own policies, so confirm the accepted marking and any site-specific approvals with the duty holder.
Decommissioning of ageing North Sea installations is forecast to grow as production declines, and it involves cleaning, cutting and removal of hydrocarbon systems in classified areas. Teams often need portable communications that are certified for the area, so confirm requirements with the operator or decommissioning contractor.
The Grangemouth petrochemical complex on the Firth of Forth, Mossmorran in Fife and the St Fergus gas terminal in Aberdeenshire. Several are in transition, so activity may be shifting. Confirm current requirements with the site operator before planning equipment.
More on Scotland, and on other places in United Kingdom.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.