QatarEnergy: background
Qatar took full ownership of the onshore concession in September 1976 and of the offshore concession in February 1977, after a phased nationalisation that began in 1973. The national company dates from 1974.
QatarEnergy is the state-owned national oil and gas company of Qatar, renamed from Qatar Petroleum in 2021. It administers the Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities and has interests across exploration and production, LNG, refining and petrochemicals. This page explains what to look for in an intrinsically safe mobile phone for QatarEnergy, 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 QatarEnergy: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
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 | QatarEnergy: LNG and gas processing, Refinery units, Petrochemical and fertiliser plants | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Qatar. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Where it operates and the kinds of classified area a handset would meet there.
QatarEnergy's Supply Management section describes vendor registration through its Mushtaryat Portal, which issues a SAP Vendor Code required for tender documents, and a Projects Preferred Manufacturers List (PML); confirm current requirements with its procurement and HSE teams. The Ex certificate and an organisation's own vendor or engineering approval are two separate timelines; SAMS is working towards both and holds neither today.
Qatar took full ownership of the onshore concession in September 1976 and of the offshore concession in February 1977, after a phased nationalisation that began in 1973. The national company dates from 1974.
The North Field East expansion, signed as an EPC contract with Chiyoda and Technip in February 2021, was planned to lift LNG export capacity from 77 to 110 million tonnes a year.
Two refineries operate: the Umm Said refinery at 137,000 barrels a day, and the Laffan refinery at Ras Laffan, which came on stream in September 2009 on field condensate.
Offshore crude is piped to Halul Island for processing and export, while most onshore oil goes to Umm Said (Mesaieed) for refining or export, so tank farms and marine loading are central to its operations.
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 QatarEnergy. Rounds across LNG, gas processing and refinery units cover large sites, with operators moving between process areas and safe areas. A handheld designed for intrinsic safety could log readings, take photos and place calls close to equipment if the certificate allows. Site access rules and permit regimes at Ras Laffan and Dukhan are QatarEnergy's.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
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.
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.
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.
QatarEnergy's Supply Management section describes vendor registration through its Mushtaryat Portal, which issues a SAP Vendor Code required for tender documents, and a Projects Preferred Manufacturers List (PML); confirm current requirements with its procurement and HSE teams.
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.
Offshore work combines salt air, humidity and summer heat, so check the ingress protection and corrosion resistance of the enclosure, the temperature range and the gas group of the product against the platform's classification. Confirm any marine, helicopter transfer or platform-specific rules with the operator.
Typically the LNG, gas processing and refinery areas at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed, offshore production platforms, and tank farms and loading facilities. Area classification is set by QatarEnergy or its operating companies for each plant, so request the hazardous-area drawing and gas group before choosing equipment.
The sheet says QatarEnergy describes project-specific Preferred Manufacturers Lists (PML) alongside vendor registration and a tenders portal. Whether a product appears on a list depends on the project, so confirm with QatarEnergy's procurement and HSE teams. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and has no certificate.
Related guides for QatarEnergy and for Qatar.
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.