Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigerian Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo, passed away Tuesday at the age of 63, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) chief Mele Kyari said on Wednesday.
“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,” Kyari wrote on Twitter.
Kyari said Barkindo died hours after meeting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and giving the main speech at an energy summit in Abuja.
During his keynote speech in Abuja hours before his death, Barkindo said the oil and gas industry is “under siege” and still reeling from the enormous investment losses of recent years.
His tenure as the head of OPEC has been marked by global shocks that have battered the industry.
Barkindo, a veteran of the oil industry, was due to step down at the end of this month after six years in the top job at the OPEC.