Integrated site
Bukom is linked by subsea pipeline to chemical units on Jurong Island, so contractors may work across both locations.
Pulau Bukom has been the site of Singapore's first oil refinery since 1961, and the island has hosted refining, trading and related services for more than six decades. Since April 2025 the complex has been owned by CAPGC and operated as the Aster Energy and Chemicals Park, so process units create Zone 1 areas. Distribution partners for Pulau Bukom are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Pulau Bukom 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Pulau Bukom: Crude and product tank farms, Jetties, Refinery process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Pulau Bukom Refinery. 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.
Bukom is linked by subsea pipeline to chemical units on Jurong Island, so contractors may work across both locations.
Shell sold the Bukom refinery and Jurong Island chemical units to CAPGC, a Chandra Asri and Glencore joint venture, on 1 April 2025; the site now trades under the Aster name.
Pulau Bukom is a restricted-access island of about 145 hectares, roughly 5 km south of mainland Singapore in the Singapore Strait, with a small companion islet to its south.
Singapore's energy and chemicals sector is its second-largest manufacturing sector, so the island's refinery and cracker sit within a national cluster of more than 100 chemicals companies.
The Bukom and Jurong Island sites are joined by a 5 km subsea pipeline, which carries product between islands and reduces ship-to-shore transfers.
The Shell stake in the park was acquired in April 2025 by CAPGC, a joint venture between a Chandra Asri subsidiary and a Glencore subsidiary, and the site was renamed Aster Energy and Chemicals Park.
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 Pulau Bukom. Bukom's hazardous areas include process units, the ethylene cracker, crude and product tank farms and jetties, and the operator, not SAMS, classifies each one. The site summary describes process units as Zone 1. A specifier should obtain the area classification drawings from the owner before matching any device marking to a location.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Pulau Bukom 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.
No price is published. While certification is in progress there is no list price and no committed lead time, and a supplier quoting a firm figure for an uncertified Ex handset is promising something it cannot stand behind. Indicative pre-launch pricing is issued in writing against a stated 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 refinery process units, ethylene cracker, crude and product tank farms, jetties. 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 Pulau Bukom.
The complex is operated as Aster Bukom, part of Aster Chemicals and Energy, which was acquired in April 2025 through CAPGC, a joint venture between a Chandra Asri subsidiary and a Glencore subsidiary. Use the Aster name when asking about supplier registration.
Bukom is an island, so access is typically arranged through the operator, with pass checks before travel. Equipment usually has to be declared and approved in advance, so plan lead time for inspection and any device certification review.
The operator, now the Aster site owner, sets contractor and equipment approvals and classifies its own areas. SAMS cannot approve a device for a site. Share the IS-04Z1 datasheet and marking target with its procurement and HSE teams, and note that certification is still in progress.
Other guides for Pulau Bukom Refinery, other places in Singapore, and the pages behind them.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.