Mohammed Barkindo, the secretary general of OPEC, the powerful cartel of oil-producing countries, has passed away, the head of the Nigerian state oil corporation said on Wednesday.
Mele Kyari, the head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, tweeted that Barkindo passed away at around 11pm local time on Tuesday. He did not state the cause of death.
According to Nigerian newspaper Business Day, Barkindo was in his home country, Nigeria. He met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, and later gave a speech at an oil and gas conference on Tuesday, the paper said.
Barkindo was appointed secretary general of OPEC in 2016.
OPEC consists of 13 oil-exporting nations from the Middle East, Africa, and South America, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, the UAE, Nigeria, and Venezuela. Other major exporters, such as Russia, have observer status in the group.
