Former NNPC Boss, Mohammed Barkindo, is New OPEC Secretary-General

Former NNPC Boss, Mohammed Barkindo, is New OPEC Secretary-General

A former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Mohammed Barkindo has emerged the new secretary-general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The former NNPC boss has for some months been acknowledged as the frontrunner for the top OPEC seat after he was nominated for the position by President Muhammadu Buhari.

OPEC at its 169th meeting under the chairmanship of its president, HE Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s minister of energy and industry, and held in Vienna, capital of Austria, approved Barkindo for the secretary-general seat.

A portion of the communique issued at the end of the meeting read:

The 169th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was held in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday, 2nd June 2016, under the Chairmanship of its President, HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar and Head of its Delegation.

The Conference congratulated HE Khalid A. Al-Falih on his appointment as Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Conference also paid a special tribute to HE Ali I. Naimi of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for his outstanding contribution to OPEC. HE Naimi’s dedication and commitment to the work of the Organization over the past two decades have left a lasting impression on OPEC’s history.

Furthermore, the Conference expressed its appreciation to HE Wilson Pástor-Morris, Ecuador’s OPEC Governor and the country’s Ambassador to Austria, who was representing his country as its Head of Delegation. The Conference also extended its deepest condolences to the Government and people of the Republic of Ecuador for the tragic losses they suffered following the devastating earthquake that struck the country on April 16th.

“The Conference decided to appoint Mr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, from Nigeria, as Secretary General of the Organization, with effect from 1st August 2016, for a period of three years.

“In doing so, the Conference expressed its appreciation to HE Abdalla Salem El-Badri for his leadership of the Secretariat and the Organization during his tenure as Secretary General.”