North Oil Company: projects and investment
The contract covers rehabilitation, redevelopment and optimisation of producing fields, so work is brownfield, with new equipment installed beside operating plant.
North Oil Company is one of 16 companies owned by Iraq's Ministry of Oil and is headquartered in Kirkuk, with a licence area running from the northern border down to the 32.5th parallel, just south of Baghdad. It operates the Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields, and a redevelopment contract for these fields was signed with bp in 2025. This page sets out how an explosion proof mobile phone supply route to North Oil Company 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 explosion proof mobile phone for North Oil Company 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.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. 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 | North Oil Company: Oil production facilities, Gas plants, Pipeline stations | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Iraq. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
A short profile of its operations and the kinds of classified area that matter for portable equipment.
Supplier registration and equipment approval are run by the organisation itself; confirm current requirements with its procurement and HSE teams. The Ex certificate and an organisation's own vendor or engineering approval are two separate timelines; SAMS is working towards both and holds neither today.
The contract covers rehabilitation, redevelopment and optimisation of producing fields, so work is brownfield, with new equipment installed beside operating plant.
bp's contractor company for Kirkuk has agreed terms for ConocoPhillips to take 42 per cent, subject to approvals, so contractor and supplier arrangements may change during 2026.
The development and production contract covers an initial recovery of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent from the Baba and Avanah domes of Kirkuk and the Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields.
Iraq's Communications and Media Commission handles type approval for radio equipment, with procedures following EU-style compliance and usually working through local registered partners.
“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 North Oil Company. Around Kirkuk oil and gas plants, explosion-proof is a general term for several concepts. Flameproof Ex d suits fixed equipment housings, but a portable phone depends on intrinsic safety, which limits electrical energy. For rounds through gas plants and pipeline stations at Bai Hassan or Jambur, intrinsic safety is therefore the relevant concept, and the IS-04Z1 is designed around it.
Nothing can be bought for North Oil Company 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 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.
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.
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.
Supplier registration and equipment approval are run by the organisation itself; confirm current requirements with its procurement and HSE teams.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
Possibly. bp's contractor company has agreed terms for ConocoPhillips to hold 42 per cent, subject to approvals, although the framework and the operators' role do not change. Equipment approvals typically stay with the operating company, so ask the operator and the main contractor.
Iraq's Communications and Media Commission handles type approval, usually through a locally registered partner, following EU-style compliance procedures. Confirm current requirements before shipping, and also ask the operator about security vetting and site rules for personal and portable electronic devices.
Only if its protection suits the zone and gas group of the specific location. A phone designed around intrinsic safety, with a marking such as the IS-04Z1 target, would be assessed against the operator's drawings. Seek the area classification from North Oil Company first; certification for the IS-04Z1 is in progress.
More on North Oil Company, and on other places in Iraq.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.