OPEC Secretary-General, Muhammad Barkindo, dies at 63

The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo, is dead.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed the demise of Barkindo via a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday morning.

Kyari, who described the death of Barkindo as “a great loss”, disclosed that the OPEC boss died at about 11pm on Tuesday.

He died at the age of 63.

“We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo. He died at about 11pm 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,” he stated.

The Star reports that the death of the OPEC Secretary-General comes a few hours after speaking at the ongoing 2022 Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference in Abuja with the theme, ‘Funding the Nigerian Energy Mix for Sustainable Economic Growth’.

The OPEC boss had warned of a bleak future for the oil and gas industry, if nothing was done to address the threats besieging the sector from multiple fronts.

He noted that the oil industry was affected by severe challenges from multiple fronts which were threatening investment potential in the short and long terms.

The Star