LNG
Cheniere's Corpus Christi terminal produced first LNG from its Stage 3 expansion in December 2024, designed to add about 10 million tonnes a year.
Corpus Christi is a Texas Gulf Coast port described as the largest US gateway for crude oil exports. Road access is by Interstate 37, Interstate 69E and US 77, and State Highway 44 links the city west to Laredo; two main bridges, the New Harbor Bridge and the Kennedy Causeway, cross the bay. Distribution partners for Corpus Christi, Texas are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Corpus Christi, Texas 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. 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 | Corpus Christi, Texas: LNG storage and loading, Crude and product marine terminals, Refinery process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Corpus Christi. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
Cheniere's Corpus Christi terminal produced first LNG from its Stage 3 expansion in December 2024, designed to add about 10 million tonnes a year.
Valero, CITGO and Flint Hills Resources each operate a refinery in the city; Flint Hills' is reported at 104,000 barrels a day.
Corpus Christi sits 130 miles southeast of San Antonio and 208 miles southwest of Houston, and about two thirds of its area is water, because the city boundary takes in Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay.
Cheniere's Corpus Christi LNG plant has a net liquefaction capacity of 18 million tonnes a year and was reported receiving about 2.37 billion cubic feet of feed gas a day, close to its peak.
Cheniere has told US regulators it wants to add four more liquefaction trains at Corpus Christi, with a new 42-inch, 26-mile pipeline loop and a second compressor station at Sinton to feed them.
Corpus Christi International Airport handles air travel, and although the city has a large harbour it has no passenger port, so the waterfront is used for cargo.
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 Corpus Christi, Texas. Rounds at the refineries and the LNG terminal cover process units, liquefaction trains, storage and ship loading. A handheld designed for intrinsic safety lets operators photograph and log readings where they work. Marine terminal inspections handling crude and products benefit in the same way.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Corpus Christi, Texas. Each application is reviewed on its merits. Because opening a certified Ex handset in an ordinary workshop invalidates its certificate, the partner must be able to support and service the device locally.
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.
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 refinery process units, lng liquefaction trains, lng storage and loading, crude and product marine terminals. 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 Corpus Christi, Texas.
LNG sites combine cryogenic storage, vaporising gas and compressor stations, so gas-hazard zones typically surround tanks, loading areas and compressor buildings. Which parts are classified is defined by the operator's drawings, and you should confirm before taking any phone into a plant.
June to September is the hottest period, with a record high of 109 degrees Fahrenheit, so check that a handset's stated operating and charging temperature range covers that, and avoid leaving devices in vehicles. Confirm the figures on the datasheet rather than assuming.
Not necessarily. LNG trains, storage and ship loading handle different substances and layouts from refinery process units, so each operator classifies its areas separately. Ask each operator which locations are classified, whether Division or Zone terms are used and what equipment evidence it accepts.
Other guides for Corpus Christi, 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.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.