Bacton
Bacton is a complex of six gas terminals operated by Shell, Eni, Perenco and National Grid, plus the Interconnector and BBL terminals linking to continental Europe.
Norwich is a cathedral city and service centre for East Anglia, not a heavy-industry site. Nearby hazardous-area work centres on the Bacton gas terminal complex on the north Norfolk coast, which receives North Sea gas, and the offshore energy port at Great Yarmouth. If you are specifying an intrinsically safe mobile phone for Norwich and the Norfolk coast, 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 Norwich and the Norfolk coast: 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Norwich and the Norfolk coast: Gas terminal process areas, Gas receipt and blending, Interconnector terminals | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Norwich. 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.
Bacton is a complex of six gas terminals operated by Shell, Eni, Perenco and National Grid, plus the Interconnector and BBL terminals linking to continental Europe.
Three of the terminals receive gas from Southern North Sea and some Central North Sea fields, including Leman, Hewett and Cygnus.
Norwich is the county town of Norfolk, lying on the River Wensum about 100 miles north-east of London and 65 miles east of Peterborough, and is the largest settlement in East Anglia.
Regional industry bodies have described the offshore wind supply chain in East Anglia as a growing cluster, with ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall wind farms off the coast driving demand for coastal contractors.
Norwich Airport is home to major offshore energy helicopter transport operations alongside corporate and general aviation and the East Anglian Air Ambulance, and KLM Engineering runs six maintenance bays across three hangars there.
The Norwich City Council area had an estimated population of about 144,000, so engineers and technicians are drawn from a sizeable local labour pool as well as from the wider county.
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 Norwich and the Norfolk coast. Operators at Bacton make rounds across gas receipt, blending and interconnector areas, and at Great Yarmouth offshore support crews handle equipment at the quayside. A handheld designed for intrinsic safety suits terminal rounds, letting staff log checks and take photographs without leaving the classified area each time.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
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.
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.
Likely candidates are gas terminal process areas, gas receipt and blending, interconnector terminals, offshore support port 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.
In Great Britain, equipment for explosive atmospheres is normally supplied under UK regulations with UKCA marking, and CE-marked ATEX equipment has been widely accepted under transitional rules. Check the current position with the site operator and certification body before ordering handheld devices.
Great Yarmouth is about 20 miles east, so road transfers of equipment and engineers are short, but offshore access depends on vessel and helicopter schedules and weather. Plan equipment delivery and testing onshore at the port base ahead of crew changes, and confirm timings with the operator.
No. It is a cathedral city and service centre for East Anglia. Nearby hazardous-area work centres on the Bacton gas terminal complex on the north Norfolk coast and the offshore energy port at Great Yarmouth. Confirm requirements with the site operator for the specific terminal.
Other guides for Norwich, other places in United Kingdom, 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.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.