Distance from help
Tarim, Changqing and many Sichuan sites are long drives from a workshop. IP68 sealing and a 4,000 mAh battery reduce the number of times a unit has to come back.
China · Oil & Gas
Explosion proof mobile phone for oil and gas in China
China's oil and gas industry is run by a few state groups across onshore basins, shale plays, offshore fields and a separate national pipeline company. This page is for the HSE and telecoms teams choosing an explosion proof mobile phone in China, and sets out who operates where and what each site type needs. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · NEPSI and IECEx programme in progress
Local approvalNEPSI · IECExIECEx · NEPSI in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
The sector · Oil and gas
Explosion proof mobile phone for oil and gas sites in China: who operates what
PetroChina is the largest upstream operator. Its Daqing field in Heilongjiang, Changqing in the Ordos Basin, Tarim in Xinjiang and the Southwest field in Sichuan together account for much of China's output. Sinopec produces from Shengli in Shandong, the Tahe field in the Tarim Basin, the sour gas fields around Puguang in Sichuan and the Fuling shale gas field in Chongqing. CNOOC operates offshore, in Bohai Bay and the South China Sea. A fourth name now matters for midstream: PipeChina, the national pipeline company set up in late 2019, which under agreements announced in July 2020 took over long-distance pipelines, storage and some LNG terminals from PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC. Older descriptions of the three groups as pipeline operators are out of date. So an equipment approval for a trunk compressor station may come from PipeChina, while a wellpad, a gas plant or a platform is still approved by its producer.
Operators and contractors
- PetroChina
- Daqing, Changqing, Tarim and Southwest fields; see the explosion proof phone for PetroChina page.
- Sinopec
- Shengli, Tahe, Puguang and Fuling upstream; see explosion proof phone for Sinopec.
- CNOOC
- Offshore Bohai Bay and South China Sea; see explosion proof phone for CNOOC.
- PipeChina
- National owner of trunk pipelines, storage and some LNG terminals since 2020.
- Drilling and service companies
- CNPC and Sinopec drilling subsidiaries and offshore engineering contractors.
- International partners
- Production-sharing partners in some offshore and onshore blocks.
Typical classified areas
- Wellsites and flowlines
- Zone 1 at wellheads, Zone 2 across the pad.
- Gathering stations
- Separators, heaters and tanks; the Daqing page covers a mature field example.
- Gas processing and sweetening plants
- Compressors and, in Sichuan, hydrogen sulphide handling.
- Shale gas and oil pads
- Fuling and Gulong, with temporary zones during drilling and fracturing.
- Offshore platforms and FPSOs
- Zone 1 and 2 process modules, wellbays and drilling areas.
- Compressor, metering and LNG facilities
- Midstream sites, now often under PipeChina.
- Offices and camps
- Safe areas, where the phone is simply a phone.
Built for local conditions
What China's oil and gas geography does to a handset
One national sector spans desert, tundra-cold winters, humid hills and open sea. The handset has to be chosen against the worst of the sites it will visit.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Cold in the northeast and north
Heilongjiang and northern pads see severe winters. The certificate will state the temperature range, and that figure is the one to check, not a general promise.
Sour gas in Sichuan
Hydrogen sulphide is handled with personal and fixed detectors, which the handset does not replace. It still has to meet the area classification on its own.
Offshore transfers
Platform crews travel by helicopter or vessel with rules on carrying lithium batteries. Ask the operator before shipping.
Many contractors, many consoles
A producer, a drilling contractor and a services company may each use a different MDM. The IS-04Z1 is managed from existing consoles, so each can apply its own policy.
How work is organised
Approvals across the oil and gas groups
Each group, and often each oilfield or refinery company within it, runs its own procurement and equipment review. Drilling and well service work is usually contracted and works under the owner's permit-to-work system, and offshore and plant work is packed into planned shutdown windows. Sinopec, PetroChina and CNOOC do not share one approval list. We have not verified a published supplier-registration programme at any of them for handsets and do not name one. The practical route is to ask the owner of the specific site which Ex certificates and test reports it accepts, whether the domestic NEPSI route is required, and whether supply must run through a China-registered partner. NEPSI is among the certification routes in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Onshore01
Field rounds and call-outs
Operators on wellfield rounds record readings, photograph defects and send coordinates to the control centre from one handset, whichever producer they work for.
Midstream02
Station and terminal visits
A crew attending a compressor or metering station needs the permit, the isolation list and a record of completion. Confirm first whether the station is PipeChina's or the producer's.
Offshore03
Platform and FPSO operations
Offshore crews carry the permit, the checklist and a camera across modules, with MDM policy set by the operator and no assumption about platform network coverage.
Questions · Oil and gas
Frequently asked questions
Do PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC still operate China's pipelines?
Not the long-distance trunk lines. Under 2020 agreements those moved to PipeChina, with the producers keeping stakes. Producers still run field, plant and platform systems.
Is IECEx enough on its own in China?
Generally it supports rather than replaces the domestic route. Operators decide what they accept, so ask each site owner and confirm in writing.
Does one handset cover onshore and offshore?
The design target is Zone 1 gas and Zone 21 dust. An offshore platform adds transfer, salt and network questions that the operator's teams answer separately.
Is the IS-04Z1 certified for oil and gas sites yet?
No. It is pre-launch and certification is in progress ahead of Q4 2026. It must not enter a classified area before the certificate exists.
Enquiry · Oil & Gas
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for Oil & Gas, 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 · Oil & Gas
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.