FPSO-based fleet
New pre-salt units such as FPSO Almirante Tamandare (Buzios) and FPSO Alexandre de Gusmao (Mero) started up in 2025; FPSOs carry a full process plant on deck.
This is a regional grouping of offshore production platforms and FPSOs in Brazilian waters, mainly in the Campos and Santos basins. Pre-salt fields supplied 82 per cent of Petrobras production in 2025, so gas-hazard zones exist on process decks and in storage and offloading areas. This page explains what to look for in an intrinsically safe smartphone for Brazilian offshore oil platforms, and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Brazilian offshore oil platforms: 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 | Brazilian offshore oil platforms: Oil and gas process modules, Wellhead areas, Gas compression | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Brazil Oil Platforms. 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.
New pre-salt units such as FPSO Almirante Tamandare (Buzios) and FPSO Alexandre de Gusmao (Mero) started up in 2025; FPSOs carry a full process plant on deck.
Equipment and crews move by supply vessel and helicopter, so spares and replacements need planning.
Petrobras describes itself as producing about 2.99 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2025, and Brazil accounted for roughly 92 percent of its worldwide production in 2014.
Under an ANP decision Petrobras operates several subsalt blocks and keeps a minimum 30 percent equity share in future licences, so most platform work still flows through Petrobras contractor procedures.
In 2000 Petrobras set a world record for deepwater exploration at 1,877 metres below sea level, and Brazilian offshore units have since moved into progressively deeper water.
Petrobras reported that 62.7 percent of its Brazilian proved developed reserves in 2014 were in the offshore Campos Basin, which explains the large fleet of platforms off Rio de Janeiro state.
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 Brazilian offshore oil platforms. Daily platform rounds across decks, wellheads and compression areas favour a handheld that does not need a hot-work permit for casual use. An intrinsically safe device is designed to stay safe in a hydrocarbon atmosphere. The IS-04Z1 is designed for such rounds, subject to final certification.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
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.
Likely candidates are oil and gas process modules, wellhead areas, gas compression, cargo tanks and offloading areas. 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.
Local content has been a factor in Petrobras projects; the P-56 topside, for example, reached 72.9 percent domestic content. Handheld equipment is a small part of that, but confirm with the contractor whether any local-content or Brazilian certification requirement applies to your supply.
Typically two layers: conformity assessment for Ex certification (commonly through Inmetro-recognised bodies) and Anatel homologation for radio equipment. Requirements change, so confirm current rules with the operator and a local certification adviser before shipping to a platform.
Equipment and crews move by supply vessel and helicopter, so spares and replacements need planning. Operators control access and often check or prepare devices onshore first. Confirm approvals, documentation and delivery routes with the operator and its contractors.
More on Brazil Oil Platforms, and on other places in Brazil.
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.