At the end of July he would have left his post as secretary general of OPEC, but Mohammed Barkindo will not complete his mandate: he died suddenly, at the age of 63, in circumstances that have not yet been disclosed.
Just a few hours earlier, the Nigerian, at the helm of the Organization of Oil Exporters since 2016, had spoken in public at a conference in Abuja: yet another fervent appeal to invest more in the Oil & Gas industry, today “under siege But still indispensable for the global economy, and an exhortation to “free up resources” in this period of strong price increases, allowing Iran and Venezuela to “return to the market” as soon as possible.
The announcement of the death of Barkindo, who was born on April 20, 1959, came via Twitter from the CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC), the state-owned company of the African country, which he himself had led in the past, between 2009 and 2010.
“We have lost our esteemed Doctor Muhammad Sanusi,” reads the message from CEO Mele Kyari, specifying that his death occurred on July 5 around 11 pm and that “soon” information on the funeral will be given.
“It is certainly a great loss – comments Kyari – for his closest relatives, for the NNPC, for our country, Nigeria, for OPEC and for the global energy community”.