Mohammad Barkindo, a Nigerian politician and the secretary general of oil group OPEC, has died at the age of 63.

The head of Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, announced the news in a tweet Wednesday, which was confirmed by two sources at OPEC.

“We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo,” a tweet early Wednesday morning from his verified Twitter handle read.

“He died at about 11pm yesterday 5th July 2022. Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community. Burial arrangements will be announced shortly.”

Barkindo’s unexpected death came as a surprise to members of the oil and gas world, many of whom describe him as a giant in the industry. 

His career spanned over four decades and included work at Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation, Duke Oil, Nigeria’s foreign ministry and energy ministry, as well as OPEC.

—CNBC’s Emma Graham contributed to this article.

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