Salt, humidity and monsoon spray
Platform decks are wet, salty and warm for most of the year, and the southwest monsoon adds rough seas. IP68 sealing and rugged build are the design floor, and the certificate ambient range is the compliance figure.
Thailand · PTTEP
Explosion proof mobile phone for PTTEP in Thailand
PTTEP is the Thai national upstream operator, and its Gulf of Thailand platforms and the Sirikit onshore field in Kamphaeng Phet are places where a standard phone is simply not allowed past the boarding point. This page is for offshore installation managers, HSE leads and telecoms engineers weighing up an explosion proof mobile phone for Thailand upstream work. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21, it is pre-launch, and certification is in progress. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification programme in progress
Local approvalIECEx · TISIECEx · TISI and NBTC route in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
PTTEP · the site
Where PTTEP works: Gulf platforms and the Sirikit oilfield
Trade press reports that PTTEP took over operatorship of the G1/61 block (Erawan, Platong, Satun and Funan) from Chevron when the new production sharing contract took effect on 24 April 2022, and already operated G2/61, which holds Bongkot. Those two concessions were reported to carry roughly 60 per cent of Thailand's gas supply, with a campaign of new wellhead platforms, subsea pipelines and drilling announced to hold output up. Arthit, further south, is built around a large central processing platform about 230 kilometres off Songkhla in roughly 80 metres of water, with wellhead platforms feeding it and condensate exported to a floating storage unit at Bongkot. Onshore, Sirikit in Lan Krabue District, Kamphaeng Phet, was discovered in 1981 and is still the largest onshore oilfield in the country, with PTTEP as operator since 2004.
Fields and operations
- Bongkot (G2/61)
- Gas and condensate, with wellhead platforms, processing and a floating storage unit.
- Erawan group (G1/61)
- Erawan, Platong, Satun and Funan; PTTEP operator from April 2022.
- Arthit
- Central processing platform and wellhead platforms in the Navamindra area.
- Sirikit (S1)
- Onshore oil and associated gas in Kamphaeng Phet, with flowlines and a processing station.
- Offshore support
- Supply vessels and crew transfer from shore bases serving the Gulf platforms.
Classified areas
- Wellhead platforms
- Gas-bearing wellbays and process decks, mostly Zone 1 and Zone 2 under open ventilation.
- Process and compression decks
- Separation, dehydration and compression modules on the central platforms.
- Condensate storage and offloading
- Floating storage and transfer hoses at the export point.
- Drilling rigs and workovers
- Classified zones that move with the well programme and the rig.
- Onshore wellsites and stations
- Crude and associated gas handling at the Sirikit field.
Built for local conditions
What a Gulf platform does to a handset
Offshore, a handset has to survive salt and weather before it is judged on features.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Gas group IIC where hydrogen may appear
Offshore gas is mainly methane, which sits in group IIA. The IS-04Z1 targets II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4, which is stricter than the platform needs and means one device also covers any onshore unit with hydrogen. Zone 21 dust is rarely the issue offshore, so Zone 1 gas is the case that matters here.
A fix when there is no horizon to describe
Reporting a leaking flange on a wellbay is easier with a coordinate and a photograph than with a description. Four-constellation GNSS and the 50 MP camera are intended for that use.
A shift that is really a rotation
Offshore crews work a fixed rotation away from shore, so a unit lost or flat on day two stays lost until the next crew change. The 4,000 mAh battery is sized for a long working day, with charging done in the accommodation and not on the deck.
PTTEP · working and approvals
How offshore work is organised, and what PTTEP teams would ask for
The platform is the workplace, the accommodation and the muster point at once, which shapes what a handset must do.
Rotation and permit to work
A small crew works a rotation on or near the platform, with permits issued per job and scope increasing around maintenance campaigns. A managed handset can hold the permit, the platform directory and daily report in one place under the platform operator's own policy.
Contractors and campaigns
New wellhead platforms and drilling campaigns bring rig, installation and commissioning contractors who are not PTTEP staff. Enrolment profiles let the operator decide what each group may run, and withdraw it when the campaign ends.
Vendor and equipment approval
We have not verified a published PTTEP approval scheme for portable devices, so we do not describe one. Ask PTTEP procurement and HSE for the equipment approval steps, the documents expected alongside an Ex certificate, and the offshore transport rules for batteries and radio devices.
Thai national file
The ex evidence underneath is an IECEx Certificate of Conformity, with TISI, Department of Industrial Works and NBTC steps for sale and use in Thailand. All are in progress, and PTTEP would still review the device itself.
PTTEP · use cases
Where the IS-04Z1 explosion proof mobile phone goes to work.
Offshore01
Platform rounds and defect reporting
An operator walks the process and compression decks, photographs a seal or gland defect and attaches the position to the notification. The planner onshore sees it before the next supply boat leaves rather than after the crew change.
Drilling02
Rig and workover supervision
A rig brings its classified area with it, and the crew changes with the campaign. An enrolled handset carries the permit app and site directory and can be locked down to the applications the operator approved for that job.
Onshore03
Sirikit wellsites and station visits
Crews travel between dispersed wellsites in Kamphaeng Phet where signal and landmarks are sparse. GNSS and a camera on one intrinsically safe unit record which well, which valve and what was found.
Questions · PTTEP
Frequently asked questions
Can PTTEP buy an explosion proof mobile phone from SAMS today?
No. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch with a Q4 2026 launch, and IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification are in progress. The datasheet and certification schedule are available now; no unit will be supplied into a classified area before the covering certificate exists.
Does the handset work offshore without a mobile network?
It depends on the platform. Platforms normally run their own Wi-Fi or radio network, and the handset joins it like any Android device. We make no claim about coverage in open water and the connectivity design belongs to PTTEP's telecoms team.
Is Zone 21 relevant on a platform?
Seldom. Offshore risk is overwhelmingly gas, so Zone 1 and Zone 2 apply, with dust zones mainly in specific stores or abrasive blasting. The Zone 21 design target matters more for onshore plants and for contractors who move between sectors.
Enquiry · PTTEP
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for PTTEP, Thailand
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 Thailand. 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 · PTTEP
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.