OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo who initiated OPEC+ agreement and forged Russian alliance dies at 63
Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo, the outgoing secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), had died.
Barkindo was in Nigeria where he met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 where he was honoured for his service at OPEC where he represented the country. President Buhari had said: “You have indeed been a worthy ambassador of our country. We are proud of your achievements before and during your appointment at OPEC and the proud legacies you will leave behind.”
A few hours after the meeting with the president, The CEO of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari announced the death of Barkindo in a tweet on his social media page:
“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.”
Barkindo was born on April 20, 1959 in Yola, Adamawa state. He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna state where he was awarded a BSc (Hons) in Political Science in 1981. A year later he joined the Nigerian Mining Corporation in Jos were he worked his way up to the Level of Principal Administrative Officer, Liaison Office, Lagos.
In 1984, Barkindo was made Special Assistant to the Minister of Mines, Power and Steel, Rilwanu Lukman. He would go on to follow Lukman as special assistant when he was appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources in 1986 and Chairman of the NNPC Board and later minister of Foreign Affairs in 1990.
In 1992, Barkindo joined the NNPC and served in various capacities while also concurrently serving different roles in OPEC. Between 1986 and 2010, he served as Nigerian Delegate to OPEC Ministerial Conferences and from 1993 to 2008, served as Nigeria’s National Representative on OPEC’s Economic Commission Board from January to December 2006. He served as Acting the OPEC Secretary General while also chairing the ECB before serving as Nigeria’s Governor for OPEC between 2009 to 2010.
In 2016, he became the secretary-general of OPEC and served for six years. In that period, he oversaw the expansion of OPEC to OPEC+ which were allied countries in the industry. He was expected to leave office at the end of July before his demise on July 5.
There has been an outpour of condolences for the late diplomat since the news of his death was made public. Atiku Abubakar, former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party described his death as saddening. Dharmendra Pradhan, the minister of education in India described Barkindo as a friend of the country “who was a proponent of stable oil market.”. Parviz Shahbazov, the minister of energy of Azerbaijan said he was sad over the news. He wrote: “His biography became the story of OPEC. The fact that he was peer with OPEC, the renaissance of the organization coincided with his years as the Secretary General, the simultaneous completion of his mission in OPEC and in life was a rare regularity. May his soul rest in peace!”
Timipre Sylva, the minister of state of petroleum The Ministry of Petroleum Resources said the ministry has been thrown into mourning over his passing.
“This is a great loss to Nigeria, to OPEC, to the Energy sector and most compassionately to his family which we have in our prayers and thoughts.”
