Start-up status
The plant produced its first LNG and shipped its first cargo in June 2025; the second train was reported to begin operating in November 2025.
LNG Canada is a liquefied natural gas export terminal at Kitimat on the British Columbia coast, with two trains and an initial 14 million tonnes per year. Gas handling, liquefaction and ship loading create Zone 1 and Zone 2 areas. This page explains what to look for in an intrinsically safe smartphone for LNG Canada, Kitimat, 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 LNG Canada, Kitimat: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. An operator's own vendor approval is a separate step. 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 | LNG Canada, Kitimat: LNG liquefaction trains, LNG storage and loading, Gas receipt from pipeline | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Kitimat LNG. 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 plant produced its first LNG and shipped its first cargo in June 2025; the second train was reported to begin operating in November 2025.
Gas arrives from the Montney Formation via the 670 km Coastal GasLink pipeline, built and operated by TC Energy.
The second phase is an 18 billion dollar liquefaction and storage plant in the port of Kitimat, where natural gas is cooled to liquid and stored awaiting shipment.
LNG Canada is a joint venture of Shell (40 percent), Petronas (25), PetroChina (15), Mitsubishi (15) and KOGAS (5), with a total investment estimated at about 40 billion dollars approved on 1 October 2018.
Kitimat was planned and built by Alcan in the 1950s, and Rio Tinto's aluminium smelter is still the main employer; other local activity includes engineering, metal fabrication and imports of methanol and condensate.
The terminal was designed with two liquefaction trains totalling 14 million tonnes per year, with the option of two more trains to raise capacity to 26 million tonnes per year.
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 LNG Canada, Kitimat. The plant produced its first LNG in June 2025, and construction and commissioning activity may continue. Walk-down inspections of liquefaction trains, storage and loading areas suit an intrinsically safe handheld that records findings on the spot. Permits for work in classified areas remain with the operator.
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.
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 liquefaction trains, lng storage and loading, gas receipt from pipeline, marine loading jetty. 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.
Typically liquefaction trains, refrigerant (propane, ethylene or mixed refrigerant) storage, LNG tanks and loading, flare and gas treatment areas. Gas groups include methane (IIA) and possibly propane or ethylene. Confirm zone drawings with the plant operator.
LNG plants use cryogenic fluids, so cold surfaces, ice and moisture are concerns around process areas. Choose sealed devices and confirm operator guidance on temperature class and ingress protection.
Gas arrives from the Montney Formation through the 670 km Coastal GasLink pipeline, built and operated by TC Energy. A device used at gas receipt would be in a hydrocarbon gas area, so the operator's classification and gas group data should be reviewed. Ask the plant owner for the relevant records.
More on Kitimat LNG, and on other places in Canada.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.