By Segun Adebayo-
The secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mohammed Barkindo,(pictured) has died, Nigerian authorities announced Wednesday
Very strangely, no reasons have officially been provided for his death.
OPEC has not publicly commented about his death. Mele Kyari, managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, tweeted the news of Barkindo’s death, which he described as “a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community.”
Barkindo, a Nigerian, led the crude oil bloc since August 2016, seeing it through some of its most turbulent times, including during the pandemic when oil prices plummeted due to declining demand. During his tenure as head of OPEC, he guided the group, working to keep the positions of its various members unified.
Barkindo had headed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries since 2016 and was scheduled to be replaced by Kuwait’s Haitham Al-Ghais next month.
Under his stewardship, the cartel forged ties with Russia and nine other oil-producing countries to form a wider group known as OPEC+ in a bid to better stabilise oil markets.
After OPEC+ slashed output during the pandemic to boost prices, the 23-member group’s moves have not calmed markets — with record high prices — in recent months amid the war in Ukraine.
Barkindo died late Tuesday and will be buried on Wednesday in his home town of Yola, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s chief executive Mele Kyari.
“Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community,” Kyari wrote, without providing any further details about the circumstances of Barkindo’s death.
“This tragedy is a shock to the OPEC Family,” Vienna-based OPEC tweeted.
“We express our sorrow and deep gratitude for the over 40 years of selfless service that… Barkindo gave to OPEC. His dedication and leadership will inspire OPEC for many years to come.”
In a statement, OPEC described Barkindo as “a trailblazer widely admired and respected throughout the globe. A dear friend to many.”
A few hours before his death, the OPRC boss had met with Nigeria’s president Mohammed Buhari, who had credited his distinguished career at OPEC.
“You were able to successfully navigate the organisation through turbulent challenges,” Buhari had said.
Barkindo himself in a speech last year described serving as OPEC secretary general for two terms as an “honour of a lifetime”.
The OPEC secretary general does not wield any executive power, but is the cartel’s public face and frequently has to act as a diplomat to bring together the different, sometimes conflicting interests of the various member countries.
Mele Kyari, managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, tweeted the news of Mr Barkindo’s death which he described as “a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the Opec and the global energy community”.
Mr Barkindo, a Nigerian, led the crude oil bloc since August 2016, seeing it through some of its most turbulent times including during the pandemic when the oil price was hit with declining demand.
He was wrapping up his tenure at Opec when he died.
Before leading the oil bloc, Mr Barkindo served led the Nigerian petroleum corporation and as the deputy managing director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture between NNPC and multinational oil giants Shell, Total and Eni.
Mr Barkindo began his career with the Nigerian Mining Corporation in 1982 before holding multiple roles over more than two decades at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The Nigerian born OPEC boss, achieved his post-graduate degree in petroleum economics from Oxford University in the UK and an MBA from Washington University in the US.
In March, Mr Barkindo was named a distinguished follow of the Atlantic Council, which holds an annual global energy forum where he was a keynote speaker.