Umm Al Nar closed
ADNOC's older Abu Dhabi Refinery on Umm Al Nar Island, which processed up to 85,000 barrels a day, was shut in 2022 as ADNOC focused its downstream strategy on Ruwais.
ADNOC's Ruwais complex in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhannah area is the biggest refinery in the Middle East, with Ruwais Refinery East rated at over 922,000 barrels a day and Ruwais Refinery West at up to 417,000. UAE phones need type approval from the federal Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, and refinery operators add their own approval rules for portable devices. This page explains what to look for in a hazardous area mobile phone for UAE refineries, and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for UAE refineries: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | UAE refineries: Refinery process units, Tank farms, Loading jetties and gantries | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in UAE Refineries. 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.
ADNOC's older Abu Dhabi Refinery on Umm Al Nar Island, which processed up to 85,000 barrels a day, was shut in 2022 as ADNOC focused its downstream strategy on Ruwais.
Hot, humid Gulf coastal climate; outdoor equipment should resist heat and salt air.
The same list shows smaller Fujairah plants of 80,000, 7,500 and 70,000 barrels a day, so refining sites are scattered across the east coast as well as the Gulf.
Outside Abu Dhabi, the Jebel Ali refinery in Dubai is run by ENOC Processing Company, a subsidiary of ENOC, the Dubai government's energy group established in 1993.
A condensate splitter typically yields about half naphtha, 30 per cent jet fuel and 10 per cent gas oil, so light, easily ignited products dominate the process units.
Ruwais Refinery West opened in 2014 with 417,000 barrels a day and contains a very large residue catalytic cracking unit that upgrades about 127,000 barrels a day of heavy residue into middle distillates.
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 UAE refineries. UAE refineries have process units, tank farms, loading jetties and gantries, and product pipelines. ADNOC, as operator, classifies its own areas, not SAMS. The Ruwais complex connects to three Gulf jetties and a pipeline network over 1,600 km long, so classified areas extend beyond the refinery fence.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
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.
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 refinery process units, tank farms, loading jetties and gantries, product pipelines. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Not exactly. Explosion proof is a broad everyday term; intrinsic safety is one protection concept, which limits energy so ignition cannot occur. Flameproof (Ex d) is a different concept that contains an explosion. The IS-04Z1 is intrinsically safe by design.
No. ADNOC runs the Ruwais complex in Abu Dhabi, but Dubai's Jebel Ali refinery is run by ENOC Processing Company, a subsidiary of the Dubai government's energy group, and smaller plants operate at Fujairah. Each operator has its own supplier and equipment-approval process.
That depends on the project owner. ADNOC, ENOC and the Fujairah operators run separate procurement and HSE processes, so there is no single approval. Ask the client or main contractor which operator's standards apply, and check current requirements directly with that operator.
It groups ADNOC's Ruwais complex, the largest, and a smaller refinery at Umm Al Nar in Abu Dhabi. Current operating status of individual units has not been checked here. Ask ADNOC refining which units are active, and which areas your team will actually enter.
Other guides for UAE Refineries, other places in United Arab Emirates, and the pages behind them.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.