Petrochemical Industries Company is Kuwait's state petrochemical holding, with its roots in the Shuaiba fertiliser complex built in the 1960s. This page is for the HSE and telecoms teams who want an explosion proof mobile phone for Kuwait's Shuaiba petrochemical estate, where gas and dust classification meet on the same shift. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification and vendor documentation in progress
PIC started production at Shuaiba in 1966, adding further ammonia and urea plants in 1970. Its 1.1 million tonne a year urea plant closed permanently on 30 June 2018 as the company moved its focus to olefins and aromatics, according to ICIS. PIC is a shareholder in the EQUATE and Kuwait Olefins complexes at Shuaiba. An aromatics complex running KNPC naphtha to paraxylene and benzene is reported among its assets, and a larger olefins and aromatics scheme tied to Al-Zour is still described as pre-investment decision. Earlier descriptions of PIC as a current urea producer are out of date, so this page describes a site in transition rather than a fertiliser works. Some ageing plant remains next to modern units, which affects documentation more than hardware.
Shuaiba is not one hazard but several in a few hundred metres, and the specification points below follow from that.
Hydrogen in the reformer calls for group IIC and ethylene is group IIB, so IIC covers both. The IS-04Z1 is designed to Zone 1, group IIC, temperature class T4, with certification still in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Polyethylene pellet handling and bagging produce combustible dust, so a gas-only device is the wrong answer in those buildings. Zone 21 is a design target alongside Zone 1, and the site's classification register decides where it applies.
Staff from different companies and many contractors work in the same area. Enrolment gives a clear way to issue and recover handsets per contract.
Shuaiba sits on the coast, so IP68 sealing and rugged build are the relevant figures for a handset carried outdoors all day.
Rounds take an operator past reformer, separation and storage areas. One handset with the round application, the camera and a call to the panel avoids a safe-area walk for each task.
A shutdown calls in contractor crews on permits. Issued handsets carry the permit app and site directory, and the camera policy is set by the owner's console.
Product moves between ship, tank and jetty. NFC tag reads at the arm and photographs of the connection can be taken on the same device.
We have not verified PIC's vendor registration process, so we describe the checks to make rather than a named programme.
Trade reports say the urea plant closed permanently on 30 June 2018. Check the current site list with PIC before specifying anything for a former fertiliser area.
No. It is pre-launch and no certificate has been issued.
Where combustible dust is present in normal operation, as in pellet and powder handling, the area may be Zone 21 or 22. Ask PIC for the classification drawings for each building.
Ask PIC procurement. Evaluation quantities can be supplied directly while a local channel is appointed.
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 Kuwait. 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.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.
