Refineries
Yanbu hosts three oil refineries; SAMREF was commissioned in 1984 and, like YASREF, is listed at about 400,000 barrels a day.
Yanbu Industrial City on the Red Sea coast was established by royal decree in 1975 and is managed by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. Its refineries, petrochemical plants and export terminals create Zone 1 and Zone 21 areas for operators and contractors. Distribution partners for Yanbu Industrial City are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Yanbu 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ingress protection | IP65 to IP68 sealing | IP68 design |
| Drop and shock | A stated drop height onto concrete | Specification on request |
| Explosion protection | A separate certificate and marking | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Yanbu Industrial City: Crude and product storage and loading, 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 Yanbu. 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.
Yanbu hosts three oil refineries; SAMREF was commissioned in 1984 and, like YASREF, is listed at about 400,000 barrels a day.
Three major oil pipelines from the east end at Yanbu, which has two ports: Yanbu Commercial Port and King Fahd Industrial Port.
Yanbu is reached from the east by the East-West crude pipeline of about 1,200 km, which can bring up to 7 million barrels a day from the Eastern Province.
King Fahd Industrial Port is about 25 km long and covers 50 square km, with 34 berths and a stated capacity of 210 million tonnes a year.
Yanbu is the second most populated city in Medina Province after Medina and the second largest Saudi city on the Red Sea after Jeddah, so a local service base exists.
Yanbu has three separate parts about fifteen minutes apart by car: Yanbu Al-Bahr in the north, Yanbu Al-Nakhal inland, and the industrial city in the south with the Royal Commission residential area beside it.
A rugged phone is built to survive water, dust, drops and rough handling, usually rated by an IP code and a drop specification. Ruggedness is an environmental property: it says nothing about whether a phone may be used where flammable gas or dust is present. That is decided by explosion-protection certification and marking.
The IS-04Z1 combines both: an IP68 sealed rugged build and a design for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4). The explosion-protection certificates are in progress and none has been issued.
In Yanbu Industrial City. Yanbu has a hot desert climate with a July record of 51 C, and coastal conditions favour sealed equipment. IP68 on the IS-04Z1 helps against dust, humidity and splash. It is an ingress rating only, so ignition protection still depends on the Ex marking and datasheet limits.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Yanbu Industrial City. 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.
It is designed to IP68 sealing, with glove-friendly controls. Ruggedness is not explosion protection: that depends on the certificates, which are in progress.
Likely candidates are refinery process units, petrochemical plants, crude and product storage and loading, 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 Yanbu Industrial City.
Coastal air is humid and salt-laden, and summers are hot, so sealed housings, corrosion-resistant connectors and a wide operating temperature range are sensible choices. The port harbour is shielded by an offshore reef, but that does not remove the salt air.
King Fahd Industrial Port has crude oil, NGL, LPG and chemical terminals among its eight, and handles about 1,800 vessels a year. Jetties, manifolds and pump areas typically need Zone 1 or Zone 2 equipment; terminal operators set their own approval rules.
Plant-side purchasing sits with each refinery or contractor, while Aramco uses its e-Marketplace Platform for registration. Requirements differ between SAMREF, YASREF and Aramco's own refinery. Confirm with the site operator before ordering, and expect any handheld to need approval from the specific plant.
More on Yanbu, and on other places in Saudi Arabia.
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.