Heat and humidity all year
Darwin's climate is hot and humid for most of the year, with a wet season of heavy rain and storms. IP68 sealing keeps rain and condensation out of the housing, and the marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4.
Australia · INPEX
Explosion proof mobile phone for INPEX, Ichthys LNG Darwin
An explosion proof mobile phone for INPEX in Australia has to cover Ichthys LNG as a whole: the Ichthys Explorer central processing facility and Ichthys Venturer FPSO in the Browse Basin, an 889 km gas export pipeline, and the onshore plant at Bladin Point in Darwin Harbour. This page covers what is classified across that chain, what the Top End climate does to a handset, and what the IS-04Z1 is being certified for. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · IECEx and cross-standard documentation in progress
Local approvalANZEx · IECExIECEx · ANZEx in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
The sites · Ichthys
Explosion proof mobile phone areas across Ichthys LNG
Ichthys gas and condensate is produced about 220 km off the Western Australian coast. The Ichthys Explorer is a semi-submersible central processing facility, and the Ichthys Venturer is a floating production, storage and offloading vessel that handles the liquids. Gas leaves through the subsea export pipeline to Bladin Point, where a 520 hectare site near Darwin liquefies it for export, with design rates of about 8.9 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG a year, plus condensate. That gives INPEX two separate worlds to equip: a marine platform and vessel, and a large onshore industrial plant, each with its own permit system and its own logistics.
Facilities
- Ichthys Explorer
- Semi-submersible central processing facility in the Browse Basin.
- Ichthys Venturer
- FPSO storing and offloading condensate and other liquids.
- Export pipeline
- 889 km subsea line from the field to Darwin Harbour.
- Bladin Point LNG plant
- Onshore gas treatment, liquefaction, LPG and storage.
- Product jetties
- LNG, LPG and condensate loading in Darwin Harbour.
- Darwin
- Logistics, flights and support base for the project.
Classified areas
- Offshore topsides
- Gas processing and compression, Zone 1 and Zone 2 under the facility drawings.
- FPSO tanks and cargo systems
- Hydrocarbon vapour around cargo handling and venting.
- Liquefaction and refrigerant circuits
- Gas treatment and refrigerant inventory at Bladin Point.
- LPG and condensate storage
- Tank areas, pump bays and loading arms.
- Flare and vent systems
- Zones around planned release points.
- Offices and accommodation
- Outside the classified boundary.
Built for local conditions
What the Top End does to a handset
Darwin and the Browse Basin share one trait: the weather is as demanding as the classification. A device has to pass the area drawing first, then survive the wet season.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Lightning in the wet season
Storms interrupt outdoor work on the plant. A handset that is carried to a shelter or a muster point has to be robust, not precious, and rugged build is aimed at drops and shock rather than weather alone.
Offshore and onshore on one device
The same Zone 1 designed handset can go from the Bladin Point plant to the offshore facilities, so a single MDM profile can follow a technician through a rotation.
A long plant to cover
Four-constellation GNSS and the 50 MP camera attach a position and a photograph to an inspection record on a site of 520 hectares, instead of a verbal description.
Policy that follows the site
Android Enterprise management lets INPEX's IT team set camera, application and update policy by group, for example stricter on the offshore facilities than at the offices.
Use cases · INPEX
Where the IS-04Z1 goes to work.
Onshore01
Liquefaction train operator rounds
An operator working through a train records readings and photographs a defect without leaving the area to use a separate camera or radio. The report is attached to the job at the point of work.
Offshore02
Platform and vessel maintenance
On the Explorer or the Venturer, technicians work to permits issued each day. A managed handset holds the permit, the job pack and the contact list for the shift.
Marine03
Jetty and loading operations
Loading LNG, LPG or condensate at the harbour involves marine crews, terminal staff and contractors in the same classified area. One managed device type simplifies who carries what.
Work pattern and buying
How work is organised, and what buyers ask
INPEX operates Ichthys with a large contractor workforce, and the offshore workforce works on rotation. These are the points to raise with INPEX's own teams. SAMS makes no claim of any relationship with INPEX.
- Offshore rotations
- Offshore crews travel on fixed rotations, so a device that stays on the facility is handed from crew to crew. Remote lock and wipe from the MDM console cover the handover.
- Turnaround and shutdown
- Planned shutdowns at the onshore plant bring many contractors for a short time. Ask whether contractors use site-issued devices, since that decides who holds the certificate documents.
- Supplier approval
- INPEX's procurement and HSE teams set the requirements. SAMS has not been through any INPEX process; ask them for their current equipment documents and prequalification steps.
- Evidence for the engineer
- The IECEx certificate and its scope, ANZEx from the same test reports and the ACMA RCM radio marking are what an Australian engineer works from. All are in progress ahead of Q4 2026.
- Offshore safety case
- Facilities in Commonwealth waters are regulated by NOPSEMA, so any new device type is expected to fit the operator's safety case, and that is a matter for INPEX.
Questions · INPEX
Frequently asked questions
Is the IS-04Z1 certified for use at Ichthys yet?
No. The device is pre-launch, with IECEx and ANZEx certification in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No certificate has been issued.
Does one handset cover the offshore facilities and Bladin Point?
That is the design intent. Both involve gas classified areas, and the Zone 1 target covers them, but each facility's own area drawings and permits still decide where it may go.
What matters for wet-season use?
Sealing and shock resistance matter most: IP68 for rain and wash-down, and rugged build for knocks. Site rules on working outdoors in storms are INPEX's.
Do we need to bring Japanese-format documents?
SAMS cannot say what INPEX will ask for. The IECEx certificate is the international basis, and INPEX's own procurement and HSE teams will say whether anything else is required.
Enquiry · INPEX
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for INPEX, Australia
Tell us the site, the zone and gas group, and roughly how many handsets. The SAMS team replies by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule for Australia. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and certification is in progress, so there is no list price yet; indicative pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
Enquiry · INPEX
Launching Q4 2026
Evaluating the IS-04Z1 for this site?
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.