Closed in 2022
ADNOC states the refinery was shut down with zero flaring in 2022, and the land has since been repurposed to suit Abu Dhabi's future needs.
Umm Al Nar Island in Abu Dhabi hosted the UAE's first refinery, inaugurated in 1976, which processed up to 85,000 barrels a day at its peak. ADNOC shut it in 2022 and focused its downstream refining and petrochemicals strategy on Ruwais, so current Zone 1 work is elsewhere. If you are specifying an intrinsically safe smartphone for Umm Al Nar (former ADNOC refinery), this page covers the markings, the approvals and the current certification status of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Umm Al Nar (former ADNOC refinery): 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 | Umm Al Nar (former ADNOC refinery): Decommissioned refinery process units (former), Site clearance and demolition works, Relocated process units being reassembled elsewhere in the UAE | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Umm Al Nar Refinery. 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.
ADNOC states the refinery was shut down with zero flaring in 2022, and the land has since been repurposed to suit Abu Dhabi's future needs.
ADNOC says the refinery's processing units are being refurbished and reassembled at a location within the UAE, where more than 240 specialist staff will be employed.
UAE handsets need type approval from the federal Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, and any remaining fuel or gas facility nearby will set its own device rules.
The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi has run three seasons of fieldwork at the island since 2020, so archaeology and industrial clearance can overlap in time.
The island gave its name to the Umm Al Nar Bronze Age culture of about 2600 to 2000 BCE, so it is better known archaeologically than as a refinery site.
The protected archaeological site is fenced by a concrete wall of about 1,760 m, and it lies between a refinery and a sensitive military area, so works near it face heritage constraints.
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 Umm Al Nar (former ADNOC refinery). Demolition and clearance rounds involve walking through former process units, checking isolations and recording condition without stopping to leave the area. A battery handheld designed for intrinsic safety lets inspectors photograph and log findings at the point of work. Any live-gas question during such work belongs to the operator's permit regime, not to the phone.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
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 decommissioned refinery process units (former), site clearance and demolition works, relocated process units being reassembled elsewhere in the uae. 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.
The island is reached across a bridge restricted to pass holders. It also holds a protected archaeological site between a refinery and a sensitive military area, so public access is prohibited. Contractors need a pass arranged through the site owner or main contractor.
Possibly limited. The former refinery was shut in 2022, so current work is mainly decommissioning, clearance and site works, which can still involve residual hydrocarbons and gas-freeing. Confirm the current status and rules with the site owner before specifying devices.
ADNOC states that the refinery stopped operating in 2022 and the land is being redeveloped. Some clearance and demolition activity may involve residual classified areas, but live refinery work has moved on. Confirm with the site operator what classification, if any, still applies to a given work package.
More on Umm Al Nar Refinery, and on other places in United Arab Emirates.
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.