Underground storage
Jurong Rock Caverns, 150 metres below ground, can store up to 1.47 million cubic metres (around 9 million barrels) of liquid hydrocarbons, adding below-ground classified areas.
One refinery on the island forbids mobile phones and other electrical or electronic equipment in its process plant and classified hazardous areas, and requires visitors to declare cameras, computers and laptops at security. It hosts over 100 global companies in refining, olefins and chemical manufacturing, so gas and vapour (Zone 1) areas are widespread. If you are specifying a rugged smartphone for Jurong Island, 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 Jurong Island: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. 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 | Jurong Island: Underground rock cavern storage, Marine jetties, Refinery and cracker process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Jurong Island. 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.
Jurong Rock Caverns, 150 metres below ground, can store up to 1.47 million cubic metres (around 9 million barrels) of liquid hydrocarbons, adding below-ground classified areas.
JTC states that the island also hosts power generation and desalination plants and supports Singapore's natural gas supply, so work there covers utilities as well as process plants.
Singapore Refining Company runs a refinery on Jurong Island able to process 290,000 barrels of crude a day, producing fuel products and chemical feedstocks for domestic and export markets.
Singapore produces no crude oil or feedstock of its own, so Jurong Island plants run on imported material delivered by sea, which makes jetties, tank farms and transfer lines a constant feature of the site.
The caverns hold about 9.2 million barrels across five isolated storage caverns and store crude oil, condensate, naphtha and gasoil, so vapour-handling surface facilities sit above a very large underground inventory.
Visitors enter through the Jurong Island Checkpoint, where they exchange an identity card or passport for a Jurong Island visitor pass before travelling on to the plant they are visiting.
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 Jurong Island. Singapore is hot and humid, and an island of reclaimed land with marine jetties adds exposure to splash and salt air. IP68 on the IS-04Z1 helps against water and dust ingress. It is not explosion protection, and the datasheet limits still need to be checked for tropical conditions.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
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 and cracker process units, chemical and petrochemical plants, lng storage and loading, underground rock cavern storage. 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.
Usually not into process or classified areas unless the equipment is approved for the zone and the operator permits it. One refinery on the island publishes a ban on phones and other electronic equipment in those areas. Ask your site sponsor which devices are accepted and whether a permit is needed.
One refinery on the island states a crude processing capacity of 290,000 barrels a day, and other chemical and refining operators share the same island. Because feedstock arrives by sea, expect busy jetty, tank and pipeline areas where Zone 1 and Zone 2 conditions are common.
Not automatically. Each plant runs its own contractor and equipment approvals and permit system, so a device accepted at one plant may need separate approval at another. Ask each plant's HSE team for its process, and plan enrolment and permits per client.
Related guides for Jurong Island and for Singapore.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.