Mohammad Barkindo, who died just a few days before the end of his second term as secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), will go down in OPEC’s history as one of its most celebrated veterans.
Barkindo, who was born on April 20, 1959 in Yola, Adamawa State and breathed his last on July 5, 2022, served in the oil cartel for over three decades.
“OPEC is in Mohammad Barkindo’s blood. He doesn’t just view the organisation merely as an employer or the Secretariat as a building. Rather HE Barkindo is a true believer in OPEC’s and, indeed, the oil industry’s capacity to be a force for good in our world; fueling modern civilisation and lifting millions out of energy poverty,” Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s minister of energy and industry, said four years ago.
He uttered those words on May 7, 2018, when Barkindo was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of OPEC in Doha, Qatar.
Barkindo worked in several key roles at OPEC between 1986 and 2010, serving for a record 15 years as Nigeria’s OPEC National Representative. In 2006, he served as acting Secretary General of OPEC, and represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Board of Governors from 2009 to 2010. He was appointed as substantive secretary general for a three-year term at OPEC’s 169th Meeting of the Conference on June 2, 2016 in Vienna, and was reelected in July 2019 for a second term, which ends on July 31, 2022.
Barkindo, who served in various capacities in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for 24 years, was the group managing director of the national oil company between January 2009 and April 2010.
He served as deputy managing director of Nigeria LNG Limited, a joint venture between NNPC, Shell, Total and Eni. Earlier in his career, he was a special assistant to former Minister of Petroleum Resources and OPEC Secretary General, Rilwanu Lukman.
OPEC is in Mohammad Barkindo’s blood. He doesn’t just view the organisation merely as an employer or the Secretariat as a building. Rather HE Barkindo is a true believer in OPEC’s and, indeed, the oil industry’s capacity to be a force for good in our world; fueling modern civilisation and lifting millions out of energy poverty,” Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada
Read also: Barkindo, the steady hand that steered OPEC through worst times is dead at 63
After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Barkindo went on to achieve a postgraduate diploma in petroleum economics and management from the College of Petroleum Studies at Oxford University and a master’s degree in business administration from Southeastern University in Washington, DC. He is also a holder of an Honorable Doctorate Degree in Science from Modibbo Adama, Federal University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria.
‘A worth ambassador’: honoured at home and abroad
Barkindo was an accomplished oil technocrat and veteran of OPEC honoured at home and abroad.
Before his demise, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, expressed the nation’s gratitude to Barkindo, describing him as a worthy ambassador of the country.
‘‘We are proud of your achievements before and during your appointment at OPEC and the proud legacies you will leave behind,” he said while receiving Barkindo at the State House, Abuja.
Buhari said when the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic that sent crude prices spiralling down at an alarming rate, Barkindo showed incredible leadership to rally industry players and pushed through the turbulent times.
‘‘There is no doubt about your efforts in putting together the Declaration of Cooperation, which is the largest cooperative effort in the history of OPEC and the global oil industry and also the longest in duration in the history of the organisation. This was a herculean task,’’ he added.
Following the 2015/2016 oil collapse, OPEC and 11 non-OPEC producers, a group known as OPEC+, signed a historic agreement in Vienna on December 10, 2016, committing to remove around 1.8 million barrels per day of crude oil from global supplies from the beginning of 2017 over an initial six-month period.
The Declaration of Cooperation, now in its sixth year, also helped the organisation navigate the turbulence in the market stemming from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In April 2020, OPEC+ took the decision to withdraw 9.7 million bpd from the market – the highest ever adjustment in its history – to support market stability.
Buhari said on Tuesday that posterity would remember Barkindo kindly for making the nation and himself proud during his six years of meritorious service at the helm of affairs as the fourth OPEC Secretary General from Nigeria.
He directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC to mobilise the oil and gas industry to organise a befitting welcome reception in honour of Barkindo, according to a statement on OPEC’s website. But the ex-NNPC boss did not wait for this occasion.
Last month, he received the Republic of Austria’s prestigious silver decoration with sash in acknowledgement of his achievements during his two terms as Secretary General.
The honour was conferred by the Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen, for enhancing the bilateral ties between the organisation, its host country and the City of Vienna.
The decoration is bestowed on citizens and foreigners who demonstrate outstanding merits and achieve exceptional accomplishments. It is known in German as ‘das Grosse Silberne Ehrenzeichen am Bande für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich’.
In May, Barkindo was bestowed with Venezuela’s highest civilian honour, the Order of General Francisco de Miranda, first class.
The Order of Francisco de Miranda is conferred by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in memory of Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela and Latin American independence hero, who is considered one of the most influential Venezuelans in modern history. This national honor recognizes Venezuelan citizens and foreigners who have made an indelible contribution to the progress of the country, exemplifying outstanding merits.
The award, presented by President Nicolas Maduro Moros, recognised his outstanding stewardship of OPEC for the last six years. The ceremony was televised live by the Venezuelan national broadcaster and attended by high-level Venezuelan dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corp.
President Maduro praised Barkindo as an ‘exceptional leader,’ who had been instrumental in navigating the oil industry through two oil price cycles: the 2014-16 downturn caused by supply outpacing demand and the 2020 contraction of demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He commended Barkindo’s lifetime commitment to combatting energy poverty and his advocacy that nobody on the planet should be left behind in the energy transition.
On March 27, 2022, Barkindo was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Atlantic Council in acknowledgement of his outstanding achievements as Secretary General of the Organization and contributions to the global energy community. He received this honour during a dinner hosted as part of the Global Energy Forum by the Atlantic Council in Dubai, UAE.
On February 14, 2022, he was presented with a special award in Egypt in recognition and honouring of his achievements as secretary general of the organisation.
“It has been the honour of a lifetime for me to serve as OPEC Secretary General. I count myself lucky to have been a witness to many historic moments and events in the last six years. The experience has confirmed for me, more than ever before, that nothing can be accomplished without teamwork,” Barkindo in his acceptance speech.
“OPEC has helped the oil industry navigate some choppy waters over the last six years and taken action that ensured the survival of this industry. This has truly been a collective endeavour; the combined work of our member countries, their ministers and ministries of oil or energy, their capable staff and teams.”
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