Climate
Hot, humid equatorial conditions with rain through the year.
The refinery operator says it relies on technical staff with decades of petroleum-processing experience and works within Pertamina Group standards, so contractor induction typically follows Pertamina procedures. The RDMP upgrade is raising capacity from 260,000 towards 360,000 barrels per day, so process units and tank farms are Zone 1 areas. Distribution partners for Balikpapan, East Kalimantan are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Balikpapan, East Kalimantan 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Balikpapan, East Kalimantan: Crude and product storage, Marine crude mooring and tanks, Refinery process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Balikpapan. 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.
Hot, humid equatorial conditions with rain through the year.
The Jakarta Post reported that the new residual fluid catalytic cracking unit was due to start in November 2025, with a naphtha unit following in mid-2026.
Pertamina took over the area's oil operations from Shell in 1965, and the refinery is now run by PT Kilang Pertamina Balikpapan, formed in 2019 to operate Refinery Unit V on an operation and maintenance basis.
The Balikpapan and Lawe-Lawe Refinery Development Master Plan raised crude capacity from 260 to 360 thousand barrels a day and added a 90 thousand barrel a day residue catalytic cracking unit.
The city has the largest economy in Kalimantan by GDP and is served by Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Airport, with Semayang as its main seaport, the second busiest in East Kalimantan.
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the east coast of Borneo and the financial centre of Kalimantan, with about 757,000 residents in 2023, making it the second most populous city in East Kalimantan.
“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 Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. At Refinery Unit V, explosion-proof is shorthand that hides a choice. Flameproof Ex d suits fixed equipment in process units, whereas a handheld used while walking the crude and product tank farms relies on intrinsic safety. The operator's hazardous-area drawings decide which applies where.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Each application is reviewed on its merits. Because opening a certified Ex handset in an ordinary workshop invalidates its certificate, the partner must be able to support and service the device 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.
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.
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 refinery process units, residual fluid catalytic cracking unit, crude and product storage, marine crude mooring and tanks. 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 Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.
Refinery Unit V is run by PT Kilang Pertamina Balikpapan, part of the Pertamina group. Contractors and suppliers normally register through Pertamina's vendor processes and follow the site's own permit and induction rules, so confirm the current route with the plant.
Yes. The upgrade added a residue catalytic cracking unit and raised capacity by 100 thousand barrels a day beside the existing units, so area classification drawings can differ between revamped and legacy sections. Ask for the current hazardous-area drawings for the unit you will work in.
Possibly, because new units bring new classified areas and contractor equipment rules. The operator sets the requirements for each phase. Ask Pertamina or its contractors for current device approval procedures and do not assume earlier approvals cover new areas. Confirm with the site operator.
More on Balikpapan, and on other places in Indonesia.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.