Personnel in the oil and gas industry frequently operate in hazardous environments that are highly infused with inflammable components. Explosive atmospheres can be caused by gases, mists, vapours or by combustible dusts. With a certain level of concentration of these substances, a source of ignition may be all that is needed to cause a disastrous explosion. The ramifications are both loss of life and destruction of material. Preventing releases of hazardous substances which can be the cause of explosive atmospheres and preventing sources of ignition are two widely used ways of reducing risks using ATEX or IECEx certified equipment.

The mainstream certification schemes for electrical networks in hazardous areas in operation around the world are ATEX and IECEx.

• ATEX (Europe but with international acceptance)
• IECex (International)

The following countries are signed up to the IECEx scheme:

Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA.