Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, has been honoured as Distinguished Fellow of the Atlantic Council.
The honour is said to be in acknowledgement of his outstanding achievements as secretary general of the organization and contributions to the global energy community.
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages ten regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity. It has its headquartered in Washington.
Barkindo received the Atlantic Council honour yesterday during a dinner hosted as part of the Global Energy Forum by the Atlantic Council in Dubai, UAE, OPEC said in a release.
In his acceptance speech, Barkindo told the audience that serving as Secretary General of OPEC came as a lifetime opportunity, and he got experiences he would treasure all his life.
The out-going OPEC secretary general emphasized that he has witnessed both challenging and historic moments over the last six years, which have underscored time and again the importance of cooperation and teamwork.
He also stressed that none of the achievements would have been possible without the tireless efforts of the OPEC Secretariat’s staff members, highlighting their dedication and professionalism.
Barkindo will become a Distinguished Fellow of the Council after he completes his second successful term as OPEC Secretary General on 1 August 2022.
Cumulatively, the Nigerian born Barkindo, has served OPEC in different capacities. His first experience was as Nigeria’s official government delegate (while he was in his twenties) to the Conference.
His second experience was as Nigeria’s OPEC representative and member of the group’s Economic Commission Board. He later served as Nigeria’s OPEC Governor. Later he was appointed OPEC’s acting secretary general. Then he was much later unanimously selected as the OPEC secretary general.
Barkindo is respected in Africa for not “feeling shy identifying with the Continent.” He is credited with ‘domesticating OPEC,’ as a brand in Africa. The created an unprecedented awareness of OPEC in Africa.
He is recorded with the presentation of papers at several engagements on energy, environment, economy held in Africa.
These include the African Energy Week, African Oil Week, Nigeria International Petroleum/Energy Summit, Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibitions, African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), among others.
Not done, he embarked on several official visits to African countries for bilateral meetings with their heads of government-Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, etc. a former group managing director of defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Barkindo will finally bow out of OPEC in July 2022.
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