Mohammad Barkindo, a Nigerian politician and secretary general of the OPEC oil producer group, died at the age of 63, just days before his term in the organization ended.
The head of Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, announced the news in a tweet on Wednesday, which was later confirmed by two OPEC sources.
“We have lost our dear Dr. Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo,” he read a tweet Wednesday morning from his verified Twitter ID.
“He died around 11pm yesterday, July 5, 2022. It is certainly a great loss for his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, OPEC and the global energy community. The agreements burial will be announced shortly. “
Barkindo’s unexpected death was a shock to members of the oil and gas world, many of whom describe him as an industry giant.
His career spanned more than four decades and included work for the National Petroleum Corporation of Nigeria, Duke Oil, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Energy of Nigeria, as well as OPEC.
Since taking over as OPEC Secretary-General in 2016, Barkindo has overseen tumultuous times for the oil-producing group, which has witnessed volatile markets shaken by historic events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the creation of the OPEC + alliance with Russia and other OPEC states and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Although the organization lost two members, Qatar and Ecuador, during this time, Barkindo is nevertheless credited with leading unity among the group’s members in an effort to stabilize world oil markets. .
Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Aaron M. Sprecher | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Barkindo’s death comes at a time of volatile energy markets, global inflation, rising climate risks and continuing consequences of the pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine. Geopolitical conflicts and sanctions have led to a much tighter oil supply, which has pushed prices to several-year highs amid fears of a global recession.
Barkindo had just received a distinguished scholarship from the Atlantic Council, which will begin once his term at OPEC ends on 31 July.
Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe had previously described Barkindo as “an unparalleled experience in the oil, security and governance markets” and “a deep understanding of geopolitics in a volatile world.”
In a statement included in the Council’s July 1 announcement of the new scholarship, Barkindo had said, “I am deeply honored to have been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow in the Atlantic Council … I hope to be able to contribute to the work of the organization on a lot of energy-related issues, at a time when the eyes of the world are focused on the prospects of the energy market both in the short and long term. “
—NBC’s Emma Graham contributed to this article.