Azerbaijan: people and language
During the expansion about 4,000 people worked on the main contract, around 75 per cent of them Azerbaijani citizens, showing the large local workforce used on major projects.
A Zone 1 / Zone 21 smartphone for crews on the Caspian platforms, the Sangachal terminal, the Baku refinery and the petrochemical plants at Sumgait. This page sets out how an intrinsically safe mobile phone supply route to Azerbaijan 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 Azerbaijan 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. 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 | Azerbaijan: Absheron peninsula, Port of Baku, Alat, Sangachal terminal | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Azerbaijan. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The classified areas, operators and sites below are the ones covered in the SAMS Azerbaijan market guide.
During the expansion about 4,000 people worked on the main contract, around 75 per cent of them Azerbaijani citizens, showing the large local workforce used on major projects.
The terminal has processing capacity of 1.2 million barrels of oil and 1.25 billion cubic feet of gas a day, with storage of about 3 million barrels, so tank farms and process trains are large.
The Sangachal Terminal Expansion Program started in November 2001 with a budget of 1.2 to 2 billion US dollars and included accommodation for about 550 people on site.
Construction began in 1996 with the Early Oil Project and oil was first exported in October 1997, after which ACG oil trains, a BTC pumping station and the Shah Deniz gas plant were added.
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 Azerbaijan. Platform and terminal rounds involve stairs, ladders, wet decks and crew transfers, with no safe socket mid shift. An intrinsically safe handheld is designed to be used on those rounds as it is, for photographs, tag scans and readings between structures at Sangachal, with a 4,000 mAh battery sized for a working day.
There is no stock to order for Azerbaijan yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch, certification is in progress, and supply will run through authorised distributors after the certificates are issued. Procurement teams can prepare now with the datasheet, the certification schedule and a safe-area evaluation.
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 Azerbaijan covers Sangachal terminal, ACG and Shah Deniz, offshore, Baku, Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, 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.
Typically at the Sangachal oil and gas terminal south of Baku, offshore Caspian platforms feeding it, and refining and petrochemical plants around Baku and Sumgait. The operator issues the classification drawings, so request the zone, gas group and temperature class before specifying equipment.
Caspian coastal sites combine wind, salt-laden air and hot summers with cold spells in winter, so check ingress protection, corrosion resistance and a wide operating temperature range. Confirm site-specific limits and any offshore transfer rules with the operator before shipping devices.
Imported equipment can need national conformity certification, and radio equipment needs approval before use on local networks. The partner handling the shipment confirms which apply. None is finished for the IS-04Z1, as certification is in progress. Check with SOCAR or your operator's procurement team before ordering.
Related guides for Azerbaijan and for Azerbaijan.
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.