Refinery status
The old refinery reopened in November 2024 but was shut for maintenance in May 2025; check its current operating state before planning visits.
Port Harcourt is the main city of Rivers State and Nigeria's chief oil-refining city, with the Port Harcourt Refining Company complex at Eleme and seaports at Onne and the city wharf. Crude was first exported through the port in 1958, and many operators keep offices here. If you are specifying an industrial smartphone for Port Harcourt, this page covers the markings, the approvals and the current certification status of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Port Harcourt: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ingress protection | IP rating for dust and water | IP68 design |
| Fleet management | EMM and MDM support | Android 16 with EMM and MDM |
| Explosion protection | A separate certificate and marking | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Port Harcourt: Refinery process units, Flow stations and gas plants, Export and port facilities | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Port Harcourt. 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.
The old refinery reopened in November 2024 but was shut for maintenance in May 2025; check its current operating state before planning visits.
Many facilities are in low-lying creek and swamp areas reached by road or boat.
Onne, in Eleme, hosts the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, a main offshore support base where supply vessels call every week and where Shell and other operators lease berths and shore facilities.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company at Alesa Eleme runs two refineries, a 1965 plant of 60,000 barrels per stream day and a 1989 plant of 150,000, giving 210,000 barrels per stream day combined.
Shell-BP found oil at Oloibiri in 1956 and discovered the Afam and Bomu wells in Ogoni territory in the same period, so the region around Port Harcourt has among Nigeria's oldest producing areas.
Port Harcourt was founded in 1912 to export coal from Enugu, 243 km to the north, over the Eastern Line railway, so it was a port city long before oil.
“Industrial” describes a phone built for plant conditions: sealed, drop-resistant and manageable at fleet scale through Android Enterprise. It does not by itself mean the phone may enter a classified area. Only a device with a valid explosion-protection certificate and marking may do that.
The IS-04Z1 is designed to be both an industrial Android phone (IP68, 4,000 mAh battery, 50 MP camera, Android 16 with EMM and MDM support) and an intrinsically safe one. Its explosion-protection certificates are in progress and have not been issued.
In Port Harcourt. Operators and contractors keep their own approved-vendor processes, and crews often travel by road or boat between sites. EMM and MDM support allows one administrator to manage devices across them. Charge in safe areas such as offices or camps, and plan around patchy connectivity at creek sites.
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.
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.
Yes by design: IP68 sealing, a 4,000 mAh battery, a 50 MP camera and Android 16 with EMM and MDM support. The explosion-protection certificates are separate and still in progress.
Likely candidates are refinery process units, flow stations and gas plants, export and port facilities, pipeline and pumping facilities. 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.
Equipment commonly arrives through the Lagos ports or airport and then moves by road or air, or through the Port Harcourt area port facilities, depending on the shipment. Allow time for clearance and security arrangements, and agree site access and device registration with the operator beforehand.
It is a base for the Niger Delta oil industry: the first shipment of Nigerian crude left through the port in 1958 and operators such as Shell, Chevron and Agip have offices there. Wellsites, flow stations and terminals are around the city, so confirm each site's rules.
Many facilities are in low-lying creek and swamp areas reached by road or boat. Plan transport with the operator or contractor, protect devices from rain and spray, and keep spare units charged in a safe area. Confirm access rules with the site operator.
Other guides for Port Harcourt, other places in Nigeria, and the pages behind them.
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.