Algeria: industry on the ground
A liquid helium plant was tested at the GL1K LNG facility in Skikda in 2006, showing that Algerian LNG sites also handle helium alongside natural gas liquids.
A Zone 1 / Zone 21 smartphone for crews in the Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R'Mel fields, the Saharan gas plants and the LNG, refining and petrochemical complexes at Arzew and Skikda. This page sets out how an intrinsically safe mobile phone supply route to Algeria will work for the IS-04Z1, and what is and is not available before launch.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. An intrinsically safe mobile phone for Algeria cannot be bought yet: the SAMS IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued), and the datasheet, certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. 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 | Algeria: Arzew and Bethioua, Oran, Skikda, Hassi Messaoud, Ouargla | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Algeria. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Operators and classified areas drawn from the SAMS Algeria market guide.
A liquid helium plant was tested at the GL1K LNG facility in Skikda in 2006, showing that Algerian LNG sites also handle helium alongside natural gas liquids.
Certificates are reported to be valid for five years if the device is not modified, take roughly ten weeks to process, and since a March 2026 decree several importers can share one certificate.
Oil was discovered at Hassi Messaoud in 1956, and the town sits 85 kilometres south-east of Ouargla in a thinly populated part of the Sahara.
Algeria spans 2,381,741 square kilometres, making it the largest country in Africa, with the Sahara covering most of the territory and the population concentrated in the fertile, mountainous north.
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 Algeria. Rounds across wellsites, manifolds and pipeline stations in the Sahara mean long, repeated trips through classified areas, often with no live-line socket nearby. An intrinsically safe handheld is designed to be carried into those areas as it is, to photograph a gauge, scan a tag and log a reading, without a hot-work or phone-surrender routine at every gate.
Nothing can be bought for Algeria today: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch, and SAMS will supply end users through authorised distributors once certificates exist. What a buyer can do now is take the specification, ask for the written certification schedule and arrange a safe-area evaluation, so that the right local channel contacts you at launch.
The technical specification, marking target and conditions of use, sent by email.
Which certificates are in progress, in what order, and what is still to be confirmed.
Evaluation units can be used for connectivity, MDM enrolment and workflow testing outside classified areas.
Tell us the site, zone, gas group and quantity so the right authorised distributor can contact you.
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.
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.
The market guide for Algeria covers Hassi Messaoud, Ouargla, Hassi R'Mel, Laghouat, In Amenas, Illizi, In Salah, Tamanrasset, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
Providers report about ten weeks for processing and a certificate validity of five years if the device is unchanged, with a March 2026 decree allowing several importers to use one certificate. Treat these as typical figures and confirm the current timing and fees with ARPCE or an agent.
ARPCE is described as the main authority issuing type approval for equipment such as mobile phones and Wi-Fi devices, while ANF handles radio spectrum approvals for devices such as short-range radios. A local representative is needed. Confirm which body applies to your specific device before applying.
The 4,000 mAh battery is sized for a working day, and IP68 sealing is aimed at sand and dust. The certificate will state the ambient range, so check it against southern field summers. Away from camps the carrier signal can be patchy, so the handset falls back to plant Wi-Fi. Verify on a test unit.
Related guides for Algeria and for Algeria.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.