OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo dies at 63

Shafaq News/ Mohammad Barkindo, the secretary-general of oil group OPEC, died at 63.

Barkindo was due to step down after six years as OPEC's secretary-general.

“We lost our esteemed Dr. Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo,” a tweet early Wednesday morning from his verified Twitter handle read.

“He died at about 11 pm 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.”

Barkindo’s unexpected death came as a surprise to members of the oil and gas world, many of whom describe him as a giant in the industry.

His career spanned over four decades and included work at Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation, Duke Oil, Nigeria’s foreign ministry and energy ministry, and OPEC.