Crackers
The site has three ethylene crackers with combined capacity of 3.6 million tons a year, the newest commissioned in 2018.
Baytown lies on the Houston Ship Channel about 26 miles east of Houston. The complex has a workforce of about 7,000 people, and the 2023 expansion supported over 3,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent roles. Distribution partners for Baytown, Texas (ExxonMobil Baytown complex) are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Baytown, Texas (ExxonMobil Baytown complex) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Level of protection | ia, ib or ic matched to the zone | ib, for Zone 1 |
| Entity parameters | Uo, Io and Po within the device limits | Published with the certificate |
| Accessories | Chargers and cases certified with the device | Defined at certification |
| Where it applies | Baytown, Texas (ExxonMobil Baytown complex): Chemical plant units, Ship Channel storage and docks, Refinery process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Baytown Refinery. 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 site has three ethylene crackers with combined capacity of 3.6 million tons a year, the newest commissioned in 2018.
A blue hydrogen facility is under construction, so project and contractor activity continues alongside operations.
ExxonMobil's Baytown complex covers about 3,400 acres on the Houston Ship Channel, around 25 miles east of Houston, and includes a refinery, chemical plant, olefins plant, plastics plant and a global technology center.
An advanced recycling facility at Baytown has operated since December 2022, with capacity to process 80 million pounds of plastic waste a year.
The Baytown Refinery opened in 1919, has a capacity of 588,000 barrels per day, and is the city's largest employer and the fifth-largest refinery in the United States.
The refinery has a Nelson Complexity Index of 13.7, indicating a highly complex configuration with many conversion units.
Intrinsic safety limits the electrical and thermal energy in a circuit so that neither a spark nor a hot surface can ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even when a fault occurs. The ib level, used for Zone 1, tolerates one fault. It is the usual way to make a handheld device that a worker carries continuously through a hazardous area.
The IS-04Z1 is designed on this principle for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4). Intrinsic safety is a design basis, not a certificate: certification is in progress and none has been issued yet.
In Baytown, Texas (ExxonMobil Baytown complex). A complex covering about 3,400 acres means long walks between units, so a handheld that works in classified areas saves return trips. Intrinsic safety suits cracker, refinery and storage rounds, and the project inspections linked to the blue hydrogen facility, where crews photograph and record findings on the spot.
A distributor for Baytown, Texas (ExxonMobil Baytown complex) would carry the IS-04Z1 after certification completes; the Q4 2026 launch is the planning date and no appointment has been made. SAMS reviews applicants one by one and prefers companies with their own Ex-competent technical and service staff, since certified devices must not be repaired outside approved channels.
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.
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.
The circuits are designed to limit energy so a spark or hot surface cannot ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even with one fault (level ib, Zone 1). Certification of that design is in progress.
Likely candidates are refinery process units, ethylene cracking units, chemical plant units, ship channel storage and docks. 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 Baytown, Texas (ExxonMobil Baytown complex).
The complex lies along the channel with marine access, plus road links to Houston about 25 miles away. Confirm shipping and customs arrangements for equipment.
US sites use NEC Class and Division and IEC Zone marking; confirm which the site accepts and the gas group, temperature class, and any contractor approval process.
A blue hydrogen facility is under construction, according to encyclopaedic text not checked with ExxonMobil, so project and contractor activity may continue alongside operations. Hydrogen could affect the gas group required. Ask the operator or its contractors for the marking and approval requirements for new areas.
Other guides for Baytown Refinery, other places in United States, 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.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.