Purpose-built city
The industrial city was commissioned in 1996 to host facilities processing gas from the North Field.
Ras Laffan Industrial City lies about 80 km north of Doha and is administered by QatarEnergy. The Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College, opened in 2013 on about 100 hectares, trains fire, rescue and hazardous-materials staff for the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors. An intrinsically safe smartphone distributor in Ras Laffan Industrial City would carry the IS-04Z1 to these buyers once certification completes.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Ras Laffan Industrial City 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.
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 | Ras Laffan Industrial City: Port loading, LNG production trains and storage, Gas processing | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Ras Laffan. 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.
The industrial city was commissioned in 1996 to host facilities processing gas from the North Field.
Entry and equipment approval are controlled by QatarEnergy and each plant operator, so site induction applies to contractors.
Ras Laffan and neighbouring Fuwayrit hold about 30 per cent of Qatar's sea turtle nests, so environmental rules around lighting and site works can apply to contractors.
Qatar's Communications Regulatory Authority is consulting on class licensing for short-range devices, which matters for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi accessories used with handsets on site.
Planned industrial land at Ras Laffan was raised from about 106 to 296 square km in 2004, so the estate is large and plants are spread over long distances.
Qatargas reported its 10,000th non-LNG shipment through the Ras Laffan terminal in 2019, so the port also handles conventional cargo, not only gas carriers.
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 Ras Laffan Industrial City. Rounds across LNG storage, gas processing, GTL plants and port loading involve walking between classified areas many times a shift. A handheld intrinsically safe device lets an operator photograph a defect, fill a form or call a supervisor without leaving the permit boundary. The IS-04Z1 is designed for that role in Zone 1.
A distributor for Ras Laffan Industrial City would carry the IS-04Z1 after certification completes; the Q4 2026 launch is the planning date and no appointment has been made. SAMS reviews applicants one by one and prefers companies with their own Ex-competent technical and service staff, since certified devices must not be repaired outside approved channels.
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 lng production trains and storage, gas processing, gas-to-liquids plants, refinery process units. 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 Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Many use the Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College, which trains fire, rescue and hazardous-materials teams on a 100-hectare campus. Whether it is required for your visit depends on the plant operator, so ask the operator's HSE team.
The site is low-lying and exposed, so wind-blown sand and dust are common. Look for a sealed handset with a stated dust ingress rating, keep connector covers closed, and clean devices according to the manufacturer's instructions before taking them back into a classified area.
Entry and equipment approval are controlled by QatarEnergy and each plant operator, and contractors go through site induction. A new device would normally need approval from the plant before use in a classified area. Ask the operator for its current process, and expect it to differ between plants.
More on Ras Laffan, and on other places in Qatar.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.