OPEC's Mohammad Barkindo dies: official

OPEC's Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo has died at the age of 63, Mele Kyari, the chief executive of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said Wednesday.

"We lost our esteemed Dr. Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo," Kyari wrote on Twitter.

"Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community," he said. "Burial arrangements will be announced shortly."

Spoke with president hours before death

Barkindo was in his native Nigeria for an energy summit in Abuja, and had spoken with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

During the summit he gave a speech warning that "the oil and gas industry globally is under siege." This was even as he sought the removal of export restrictions on oil produced by Iran, Venezuela and Libya.

Since assuming his role at OPEC in 2016, Barkindo oversaw turbulent times for the oil producers' alliance, which witnessed volatile markets rocked by historic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the creation of the OPEC+ alliance with Russia and other non-OPEC states, and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Barkindo represented Nigeria on OPEC's Economic Commission Board from 1993 until 2008. He has also headed Nigeria's technical delegation to the United Nations' climate negotiations since 1991.

Barkindo was born on April 20, 1959, in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria, and leaves behind a wife and children.

jsi/msh (Reuters, AFP)