Complex refinery
CPCL's Manali refinery is rated at 10.5 million tonnes a year and includes crude distillation, hydrocracker, FCC, delayed coker and reforming units, plus lube and wax production.
Chennai's hazardous-area work centres on North Chennai, where Chennai Petroleum Corporation (CPCL) runs the Manali refinery and Kamarajar Port (Ennore) handles liquid and gas cargoes. Refining, lube and wax production and LNG handling create Zone 1 areas. A rugged smartphone distributor in Chennai (Manali and Ennore industrial area) would carry the IS-04Z1 to these buyers once certification completes.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Chennai (Manali and Ennore industrial area) 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.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Chennai (Manali and Ennore industrial area): Refinery process units, Lube base stock and wax plants, Crude and product storage | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Chennai India. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
A short profile of the site and the kinds of classified area that matter for portable equipment.
CPCL's Manali refinery is rated at 10.5 million tonnes a year and includes crude distillation, hydrocracker, FCC, delayed coker and reforming units, plus lube and wax production.
Kamarajar Port, about 18 km north of Chennai Port, has a marine liquid terminal for petroleum, oils and chemicals and an Indian Oil LNG import terminal of 5 million tonnes a year.
Most rain comes from the northeast monsoon between October and December, when cyclones are common and flooding of low-lying areas can occur, with about 120 centimetres a year.
A propylene plant of 17,000 tonnes a year, commissioned in 1988, and a 30,000 tonne a year paraffin wax plant add petrochemical and wax operations to the fuel refinery.
The Manali refinery of Chennai Petroleum Corporation has a capacity of 10.5 million tonnes a year and is one of India's most complex refineries, with fuel, lube, wax and petrochemical feedstock units.
The refinery began as a 1965 joint venture and was built from the ground up in a record 27 months at 2.5 million tonnes a year, so many units are decades old.
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 Chennai (Manali and Ennore industrial area). The Coromandel coast is hot and humid with salt-laden air, which attacks connectors and seals over time. An IP68 rating helps keep water and dust out and suits corrosion-conscious selection. It is an ingress rating only, so it never replaces the Ex marking needed in a classified area.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Chennai (Manali and Ennore industrial area). 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.
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.
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.
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, lube base stock and wax plants, crude and product storage, marine liquid terminal. 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 Chennai (Manali and Ennore industrial area).
The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation administers the Petroleum Rules, 2002 and the Explosives Rules, 2008. Operators use licensed storage and their own safety teams, so ask for site-specific equipment requirements.
April to June is the hottest period at 35 to 40 degrees Celsius, with high humidity all year. Check the device's operating temperature and humidity ratings and its battery behaviour in heat on the datasheet.
Possibly, but only where its marking suits the classification of that specific area. Marine terminals and refinery units can differ in gas group and temperature class, and port authorities add their own permits. Confirm the area classification and permit rules with the terminal operator before any approval.
Related guides for Chennai India and for India.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.