The UK oil and gas sector splits into offshore installations that fly crews out from Aberdeen and onshore terminals where gas and crude come ashore, and an explosion proof mobile phone in the United Kingdom has to suit both. This page covers the sector as a whole: the terminals at St Fergus, Sullom Voe, Bacton and Easington, the offshore operators, and the rules that decide what a person may carry into a classified area. The IS-04Z1 is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 and is pre-launch, with certification in progress ahead of Q4 2026. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification programme in progress
St Fergus, on the Aberdeenshire coast, is split between three sub-terminals: one operated by Shell, one by SAGE North Sea for Ancala, and one by pX for North Sea Midstream Partners. Depending on the day it handles roughly a quarter to a half of the country’s gas supply, and it runs round the clock. Bacton in Norfolk is a complex of five terminals on four sites, and Easington on the Yorkshire coast is the other main landfall, while Teesside takes liquids from the Central North Sea through Norpipe. Sullom Voe on Shetland is operated by EnQuest. Offshore, the duty holder’s safety case and the prevention of fire and explosion regulations set the framework for what equipment may be used in a classified area, and onshore the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations require areas where an explosive atmosphere may occur to be classified and zoned. In both settings the question for a handset is the same: what zone, what gas group, and does the certificate cover it.
Whether the site is a platform or a terminal, the sector sets the same few demands on a device.
Offshore rotations vary, with two-on-two-off and three-on-three-off patterns both in use, and crews change by helicopter. A handset that is enrolled in an MDM can be issued, reassigned and wiped at crew change, which fits shared pools better than personal devices.
Platforms and coastal terminals are wet and salty most of the year. IP68 sealing and rugged build are the specifications a reviewer reads first, ahead of any application feature.
There is no charging point in the process area. The 4,000 mAh battery is sized to carry a twelve-hour shift with the camera and GNSS in use, so charging happens at handover in the accommodation or control building.
The 50 MP camera with PDAF produces photographs of tags, corrosion and relief valves that an onshore engineer can use, and four-constellation GNSS attaches a position to each. That is what avoids a second visit into the zone.
Gas is the main hazard offshore and at terminals, but dust and powder situations turn up in chemical, additive and fabrication stores on the same estates. The IS-04Z1 is designed to Zone 1 and Zone 21 under an II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 gas target, so staff need not carry two handsets.
An operator on a North Sea platform walks a round in the zone, records readings and photographs defects, and calls the control room. One handset replaces a radio, a camera and a clipboard.
St Fergus, Bacton, Easington and Sullom Voe run continuously with scheduled turnarounds. A handset for terminal staff and visiting contractors needs to be issued and recovered cleanly through that cycle.
Wood, Petrofac and similar contractors move between operators’ sites. A handset that can be enrolled in each operator’s MDM, with its own camera and application policy, travels with the crew without a reconfiguration at every gate.
Offshore, the duty holder’s safety case and the prevention of fire and explosion regulations apply, and onshore the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations require areas to be classified. The certification route for the equipment is set out on the UK country page.
Individual pages cover the explosion proof phone for Harbour Energy, the explosion proof phone for Adura and the explosion proof phone for EnQuest, which operates Sullom Voe and Magnus.
Large operators usually add a vendor or equipment approval step on top of the certificate, but each sets its own. We have not verified a standard programme across the sector, so ask each operator’s procurement and HSE team what a handheld needs.
Not yet. It is pre-launch, with IECEx, ATEX and UKEX certification in progress ahead of Q4 2026, and SAMS has no pilot or supply agreement with any UK operator. Teams can request the datasheet and certification schedule now.
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 United Kingdom. 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.
