Mohammed Barkido died late Tuesday, a spokesman for Nigeria’s oil industry said. The cause of his death was not immediately known, but he reportedly died hours after meeting with Nigeria’s president and speaking at an energy summit in the country. Mr Barkindo’s term as head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – whose 13 member countries account for 80% of the world’s proven crude oil reserves – was due to end this month after six years. It led the group to a dramatic drop in the price of oil during the pandemic, when at one point some producers had to pay people to get the oil off their hands. His legacy is likely to be defined by the OPEC+ agreement reached at the start of his tenure in 2016 with Russia and other non-OPEC countries. The group significantly cut production to stabilize the oil price as COVID hit. However, the deal has come under extra scrutiny amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and today’s high oil prices fueling rising gasoline prices. OPEC said it was a “deep loss” to the oil industry and called him a “selfless man of great humility and decency.” In a statement, OPEC said he served “with great distinction and helped it successfully navigate two major industry downturns (2015-2016 and 2020-2021).” Image: Mohammad Barkindo pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 In his keynote address in Abuja hours before his death, Mr Barkido said the oil and gas industry, still reeling from massive investment losses in recent years, was “under siege”. “In a very short period of time, the industry has been hit by two major cycles – the severe market downturn in 2015 and 2016 and the even more far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. Mr. Barkindo started his career in 1982 with the Nigerian Mining Corporation and served for over two decades with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Born in Yola, Nigeria, he studied Masters in Petroleum Economics at the University of Oxford and an MBA at the University of Washington.
