Environment
The setting is remote, with cold winters. Low-temperature performance and battery life are practical concerns for portable equipment.
Williston Basin International Airport opened in 2019 and Amtrak's Empire Builder stops once daily in each direction, while the area has no fixed-route bus service. Zone 1 work arises at drilling rigs, wellsites, tank batteries and gas gathering facilities. A hazardous area mobile phone distributor in Bakken, North Dakota (Williston Basin) would carry the IS-04Z1 to these buyers once certification completes.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Bakken, North Dakota (Williston Basin) 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zone | 0, 1 or 2 for gas; 20, 21 or 22 for dust | Designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 |
| Gas group | IIA, IIB or IIC | IIC (target) |
| Area drawing | The operator's own classification drawing | Decided by the site operator |
| Where it applies | Bakken, North Dakota (Williston Basin): Gas gathering and processing, Crude loading facilities, Drilling rigs | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in North Dakota Bakken. 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.
The setting is remote, with cold winters. Low-temperature performance and battery life are practical concerns for portable equipment.
Oil was discovered in the Williston Basin in 1951. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing lifted output, and North Dakota and Montana together passed 1 million barrels a day in April 2014.
Bakken oil began flowing in the 1950s at Antelope Field, but large-scale growth only followed the discovery of the Parshall Field in 2007.
The city sits at the crossroads of US Highways 2 and 85, near the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, about 18 miles from Montana and 60 miles from the Canadian border.
Satellite land-cover data show about 46 square kilometres of developed land around Williston in 2024, showing how energy development left a lasting footprint on a rural town.
Williston sits close to the centre of the Williston Basin, directly above the Bakken Formation, which is among the largest oil fields in the United States.
A hazardous area is a place where flammable gas, vapour or combustible dust may be present. Standards divide these into zones: Zones 0, 1 and 2 for gas and vapour, and Zones 20, 21 and 22 for dust. Zone 1 and Zone 21 are the tier where an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation, which is where the IS-04Z1 is designed to work. Anything carried in must be marked for the zone, gas group and temperature class of the area.
No certificate has been issued for the IS-04Z1 yet, so it must not be taken into a classified area until the certificate covering it exists and the site operator has accepted it.
In Bakken, North Dakota (Williston Basin). Zone 1 work in the Bakken arises at drilling rigs, wellsites, tank batteries and gas gathering and processing, plus crude loading facilities. The operator classifies these areas, and the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources oversees oil and gas activity. SAMS does not classify anything and takes no regulatory role.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Bakken, North Dakota (Williston Basin). 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.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
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.
Zone 1 and Zone 21 (gas and dust) with gas group IIC and temperature class T4, subject to certification. It must not be used in a classified area before its certificate is issued and the site has accepted it.
Likely candidates are drilling rigs, wellsites and tank batteries, gas gathering and processing, crude loading facilities. 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 Bakken, North Dakota (Williston Basin).
Williston Basin International Airport opened in 2019 and is the closest airport, usually reached through a larger US hub. Allow for road transfers and winter weather delays, and agree site access in advance.
Many wellpads and processing plants are spread over rural plains, with Williston acting as the main service base. Confirm network coverage, emergency contact procedures and lone-worker policies with the operator, because coverage and response times differ from city sites.
The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division oversees oil and gas activity. It does not approve phones. Equipment requirements generally come from operators and field service contractors, and SAMS holds no certificate yet, so ask the relevant operator what it would accept.
Related guides for North Dakota Bakken and for United States.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.