Workforce
Borouge Plc employs more than 2,900 people, with extra contractor staff during project phases.
The complex produces polyethylene and polypropylene using Borstar and Borlink technologies for packaging, infrastructure, energy, mobility, agriculture and healthcare uses, so both gas feedstock and polymer powder are handled. Hydrocarbon feedstocks and polymer powder give gas and dust classification, and the Borouge 4 expansion is bringing new plants onstream, including an XLPE plant that delivered its first customer batch in September 2026. Distribution partners for Borouge at Ruwais are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Borouge at Ruwais 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. 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 | Borouge at Ruwais: Feedstock and gas storage, Utilities and pipelines, Olefin and polyolefin process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Borouge Petrochemical. 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.
Borouge Plc employs more than 2,900 people, with extra contractor staff during project phases.
Borouge 4 will add 1.4 million tonnes of capacity and make Ruwais the world's largest single-site polyolefin complex; it is operated by Borouge Plc on behalf of its owners ADNOC and OMV, so contractor activity continues during commissioning.
Borouge employs more than 3,000 people of over 40 nationalities, so safety instructions and handset menus may need to work for a multilingual crew.
Borouge was founded in 1998 through a partnership between ADNOC and Borealis to build and operate a petrochemical complex in Al Ruwais Industrial City.
Beyond the plant, Borouge uses logistics hubs, warehouses and gateways across the Middle East and Africa, Europe and Asia, so pellet packing and dispatch areas form a separate work zone.
Borouge is a signatory of the chemical industry's Responsible Care Global Charter, so contractors can expect a formal safety-management culture on site.
“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 Borouge at Ruwais. At a polyolefins complex, explosion-proof is often used for everything Ex. Hydrocarbon feedstock areas call for gas protection, with Ex d for fixed equipment and intrinsic safety for handheld devices, while polymer powder handling raises dust concerns. Borouge's own engineers decide which concept applies in each unit.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Borouge at Ruwais yet and applications are reviewed company by company. Because a certified Ex device cannot be opened by an ordinary phone workshop without invalidating its certificate, SAMS looks for partners who can provide competent technical support and after-sales service locally.
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.
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 olefin and polyolefin process units, polymer powder handling (zone 21), feedstock and gas storage, utilities and pipelines. 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 Borouge at Ruwais.
The company reports more than 40 nationalities among its 3,000-plus employees, so a handset used for permits or alarms should support clear icons and the languages the crew actually uses. Confirm the plant's working language and its rules on personal devices.
Plant owners normally run their own supplier registration and equipment approvals, often through procurement and HSE teams. Borouge describes a formal safety culture, so expect documentation requests; confirm current requirements directly with its procurement team.
Borouge manages its own contractor and supplier approvals, so personal or contractor devices would be a matter for its procurement and HSE teams. Any phone entering classified areas would need suitable evidence. Ask Borouge what documentation it requires before planning device use on the project.
More on Borouge Petrochemical, and on other places in United Arab Emirates.
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.