Earlier today, the current chairman of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, was announced dead.
The sad news was revealed to the public by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari.
Sharing the update on his personal Twitter handle, Kyari said:
“We lost our esteemed Dr. Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo. He died at about 11 pm yesterday, 5th July 2022. Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC, and the global energy community.
“Burial arrangements will be announced shortly.”
The OPEC boss died a couple of hours after he delivered a speech at an event in Nigeria and led a powerful delegation from the OPEC secretariat on a courtesy visit to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari at the statehouse in Abuja.
Ages 63, Mr. Barkindo, delivered a speech at the ongoing 2022 Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, taking place in Abuja. In his speech, he addressed the Oil and Gas stakeholders on the activities of OPEC in regulating oil prices and assisting African oil nations to the best of their ability.
Sadly, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo – who is currently in his second tenure as the Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), would have stepped down from office on July 31, 2022.
The event in Abuja was supposed to be his major event before ending his second tenure as the OPEC boss in three weeks’ time.
The NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, described the death of Mr. Barkindo as a “great loss to his immediate family, NNPC Nigeria, OPEC and the global energy community.”
Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo served as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to cap an illustrious career spanning 24 years with the Corporation.
In your opinion, what does the death of the OPEC Secretary-General pose for African oil nations?