REN Atlântico operates the Sines LNG terminal, the main import point for natural gas in Portugal, and this page is for the operations, HSE and telecoms staff who decide which explosion proof mobile phone is allowed onto its jetty and tank areas. The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe Android handset designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21, with certification in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification programme in progress
The terminal started operating in 2003 and has a single jetty that takes carriers up to 216,000 cubic metres. It has three storage tanks, two of 120,000 cubic metres and one of 150,000, which gives about 390,000 cubic metres in all. LNG is delivered, stored cold, then warmed in vaporisers and sent to the national gas network. Methane is a group IIA gas, which is a comparatively benign group, but the classified areas are large and the consequences of a release are severe. Boil-off gas compressors, vaporisers and the jetty loading arms all carry Zone 1 or Zone 2 areas.
At an LNG terminal the question is less about the gas group and more about discipline: where a phone may go, who has approved it, and what it can do when something is wrong.
The jetty is an open Atlantic location. IP68 sealing is aimed at spray, rain and wash-down, and a four-constellation GNSS fix keeps working outdoors, which matters when a lone worker is a long walk from the control building.
Methane sits in IIA, yet a terminal that is also near hydrogen projects at Sines will see IIC arrive in the neighbourhood. The IS-04Z1 marking target is Ex ib IIC T4, so the device is not the limiting item if the site mix changes.
A terminal runs continuously, and a permit has to be checked at the point of work. A managed Android handset can hold the permit, the isolation list and the shift log, and be locked to those applications.
In a cargo emergency a worker must be reachable. A handset with voice, data and an alarm application that the operator controls replaces carrying a phone, a radio and a torch.
During unloading, jetty staff monitor arm connections, pressure and mooring. A handset designed for Zone 1 lets them photograph, log and call without leaving the transfer area to find a safe place.
Roof access on a large cryogenic tank is a long climb. Carrying one device that records readings, photographs defects and reports position saves a second trip.
Sites away from the terminal are often manned by a visiting technician. A managed handset with GNSS records the visit and the reading in the maintenance system.
As an operator of critical energy infrastructure, REN will ask for the ATEX certificate, the marking, the temperature class and a clear statement of what the device may and may not do. We have not verified any named REN vendor-approval programme, so this page refers to the operator's procurement and HSE teams only. Ask them for the documents, induction and test the terminal requires before a new handset class is introduced.
The IS-04Z1 has no certificate yet and SAMS has no supply relationship with REN. Any evaluation would be for assessment and training outside classified areas until the certificate covering that use exists.
Yes, methane is group IIA, so equipment marked IIA, IIB or IIC can be used for it. The IS-04Z1 is designed to IIC, which covers hydrogen as well, so a single device is usable if the site later handles both.
The temperature class refers to surface temperature against the ignition temperature of the gas, not the cold of the liquid. Methane has a high ignition temperature, so T4 is a comfortable class, but the area classification remains the controlling document.
Only if the operator's rules and the certificate allow it. Many terminals restrict phones during transfer, and that decision belongs to the terminal and the port authority, not to the device maker.
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 Portugal. 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.
