Strategic storage
India's strategic petroleum reserve includes a 1.5 million tonne underground facility at Mangaluru, with a further one at nearby Padur.
MRPL, established in 1988 at Katipalla north of Mangaluru, has a design capacity of 15 million tonnes a year and processes crudes of 24 to 46 API gravity, light to heavy and sour to sweet. These create hazardous areas in processing and storage. Distribution partners for Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka 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.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. 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 | Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka: Underground crude storage caverns, Marine terminal, Refinery process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Mangalore India. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The companies on site and the hazardous-area types a handset is likely to meet there.
India's strategic petroleum reserve includes a 1.5 million tonne underground facility at Mangaluru, with a further one at nearby Padur.
MRPL was established in 1988, is a subsidiary of ONGC and has a design capacity of 15 million tonnes a year, including a polypropylene unit.
ONGC held about 71.6 percent of MRPL and HPCL about 17 percent as of 2020, so the refinery sits inside the public-sector oil group.
The international airport is about 15 kilometres from the city centre and the city's average elevation is 22 metres above sea level.
It has two hydrocrackers for premium diesel, two continuous catalytic reformers for high-octane petrol and a 0.44 million tonne polypropylene unit.
Mangaluru lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, 352 kilometres west of Bengaluru and 297 kilometres south of Goa, and has all four modes of transport.
“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 Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka. Aromatics and polypropylene units, plus underground crude caverns, show why explosion-proof is an everyday phrase rather than a protection concept. Process equipment may be flameproof Ex d, while a handheld carried into a cavern access area or a unit depends on intrinsic safety.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka 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.
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, petrochemical aromatics and polypropylene units, underground crude storage caverns, marine terminal. 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 Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka.
Humidity averages about 75 percent and peaks at around 93 percent in July, with 95 percent of rain falling between May and September. Choose sealed devices and ask about corrosion resistance for coastal air.
It has air, road, rail and sea links, with the international airport about 15 kilometres from the centre and a major port. Freight is normally straightforward, but confirm customs and gate arrangements.
They can. Cavern access and pumping areas have their own classification and entry rules, separate from refinery process units. Confirm with the operator of the strategic reserve which devices are allowed, under what permit, and who approves them.
Related guides for Mangalore India and for India.
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.