Salt air and spray
Chloride corrodes ports and seams over months. IP68 sealing is the design starting point, and long-term salt exposure is something to raise with us during evaluation.
China · CNOOC
Explosion proof mobile phone for CNOOC offshore operations
CNOOC runs China's offshore oil and gas from Bohai Bay to the South China Sea, with onshore terminals and a refining and petrochemical presence at Huizhou. This page is for the HSE, offshore operations and telecoms teams who need an explosion proof mobile phone in China that survives a platform, not just a plant. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · NEPSI and offshore documentation in progress
Local approvalNEPSI · IECExIECEx · NEPSI in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
The sites · CNOOC
Where an explosion proof mobile phone is needed on CNOOC's platforms and terminals in China
Offshore work splits into two basins with different problems. In the central Bohai Sea, the Bozhong 19-6 condensate gas field is reported by trade press to be developed with one central processing platform, three unmanned wellhead platforms and a gas processing terminal onshore. Bohai is shallow and partly freezes in winter, so platforms are built to resist ice. In the South China Sea, CNOOC's Lingshui 17-2 deepwater gas project is produced through Shenhai-1, a 53,000 tonne semi-submersible production and storage platform in about 1,500 metres of water. Between these sit older fixed platforms and floating production units. Onshore, gas arrives at terminals, and CNOOC is also present in refining and petrochemicals at Huizhou in Guangdong. Offshore areas are Zone 1 and Zone 2 gas almost everywhere processing happens, with drilling, wellhead and compression modules the most heavily classified.
Operators and partners
- CNOOC Limited
- The listed upstream company operating the platforms and fields.
- Production-sharing partners
- International oil companies in some fields, bringing their own engineering expectations.
- Offshore engineering contractors
- Fabricators and installers building and maintaining platforms.
- Drilling and well-service contractors
- Rig and workover crews who arrive by vessel or helicopter.
- Marine support operators
- Supply and crew vessels, and aviation providers for helicopter transfers.
- Onshore terminal teams
- Gas reception, processing and condensate handling at landfall.
Classified units and areas
- Wellhead platforms
- Many unmanned, visited periodically; Zone 1 at wellbays.
- Central processing platforms
- Separation, compression, dehydration and export; Zone 1 and Zone 2 modules.
- Floating production units
- Process decks, turret and storage areas on FPSOs and semi-submersibles.
- Drilling and workover areas
- Shale shaker, mud and wellbay zones that move with the rig.
- Subsea tie-backs and risers
- Zones around riser decks and pig launchers.
- Onshore gas terminals
- Reception facilities, slug catchers and condensate stabilisation.
- Accommodation and control rooms
- Safe areas aboard platforms, where the handset is simply a phone.
Built for local conditions
What the sea does to a handset
Salt, motion and transfer logistics shape an offshore handset more than any single hazard.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Winter ice in Bohai
Seasonal ice affects access and transfers in the north. Cold also shortens battery life, so the certificate's temperature range is the figure to check, not a general claim.
Helicopter and vessel transfers
Personnel travel offshore by helicopter or vessel. Carriage rules for lithium batteries and electronic devices are set by the operator and aviation provider, so ask them before shipping units.
Unmanned platforms visited by crews
A visit to an unmanned wellhead platform is short and planned. A handset with GNSS, a 50 MP camera and a 4,000 mAh battery carries the permit and records the visit without a safe-area stop.
Network depends on the platform
Connectivity offshore is set by the platform's own network, not the handset. The device is managed from existing MDM consoles, so policy follows it whichever network is available.
How work is organised
Offshore access, partners and approvals at CNOOC
Offshore access begins long before the platform: survival training, medicals and a permit to travel. Crews work set rotations, and maintenance campaigns are packed into planned shutdown windows because vessel and helicopter capacity is limited. Fields developed with international partners can carry more than one set of engineering expectations, so a supplier may be asked for IECEx or ATEX evidence alongside the domestic route. We have not verified a published supplier-registration programme at CNOOC and do not name one. Ask the operator's procurement and HSE teams which Ex certificates and test reports they accept for a specific platform. NEPSI is among the certification routes in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Offshore01
Platform operator rounds
An operator walks process modules on a central processing platform, records a reading, photographs a leaking flange and raises the work request from the same handset.
Unmanned platforms02
Periodic wellhead visits
A crew lands on an unmanned wellhead platform for a planned inspection. The handset carries the permit and checklist, and positions and photographs return with the crew.
Onshore03
Gas terminal shutdowns
At a landfall gas terminal, a shutdown brings contractors into a classified plant over a few days. Enrolled handsets let the terminal control the camera and apps for each crew.
Questions · CNOOC
Frequently asked questions
Does a partner's IECEx or ATEX requirement replace NEPSI offshore?
Not by itself. Partner standards and the domestic route can both apply to one field, and the operator's engineers decide which evidence they accept. Ask early which documents a specific platform requires.
Can the handset be carried on helicopter transfers?
That is an operator and aviation provider rule, covering lithium batteries and electronic devices. Ask for the current carriage policy before planning shipments, and do not assume a certified device is exempt.
Is a handset enough for communication on an unmanned platform?
Only if the platform has a network. The handset works on whatever the platform provides, and the operator's telecoms team decides coverage.
Is the IS-04Z1 certified for CNOOC platforms yet?
No. It is pre-launch, certification is in progress and the Q4 2026 launch follows the certificates. Nothing should go into an offshore classified area before then.
Enquiry · CNOOC
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for CNOOC, China
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 China. 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 · CNOOC
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.