The CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, announced today, Wednesday, that the Secretary-General of OPEC, Muhammad Barkindo, has died at the age of 63.
“We have lost the respected Mohamed Sanusi Barkindo,” Kyari added on Twitter, adding that the death occurred at around 11 pm yesterday.
He said the death was “a great loss to his immediate family, the National Oil Council, our country Nigeria, OPEC, and the global energy community.”
Yesterday, Barkindo participated in a conference on energy, held in his native Nigeria, where he had a remarkable speech in which he said that the oil and gas industry is “under siege”, as it is exposed to great challenges, which have caused a decline in investments in it in recent years.
“Crises starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to threaten us, then the war in Ukraine, right up to the severe waves of inflation, have pushed commodity markets into a state of volatility and general uncertainty, and even more so in the energy market,” Barkindo said.
Barkindo was appointed for a three-year term as OPEC Secretary-General, starting from August 1, 2016. In 2019, he was elected for a second term ending in July. It was decided that he would be succeeded by Kuwaiti Haitham Al-Ghais after he won the confidence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for the position of Secretary-General. Previously, in 2006, he served as Acting Secretary-General.
He also represented Nigeria in the Economic Committee of the Organization of “OPEC” during the period 1993-2008 led by the Nigerian National Oil Corporation during 2009-2010. He has led the Nigerian technical delegation to the climate negotiations at the United Nations since 1991.
According to the official website of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), writing about the Secretary-General of the Organization, it said he is “the legally authorized representative of the Organization and Chief Executive Officer of the General Secretariat. In this capacity, he manages the affairs of the Organization in accordance with the directions of the Board of Governors.”
The Conference also appoints the Secretary-General for a period of three years, renewable once for the same period. This appointment is made on the basis of a nomination by the Member States.
The Secretary-General is assisted in the performance of his duties by a team of officers and staff including two directors responsible for the Research Division and the Support Services Division, six heads of divisions, the General Legal Counsel, the Chief of the Secretary-General’s Office and the Internal Auditor who independently verifies whether the ongoing operations to monitor financial operations And the administration in the secretariat is appropriately designed and operates in an effective manner,” according to OPEC.
