Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas company Talos Energy ( TALO )

said on Monday it has identified a candidate to serve

as the company's CEO and is in the final stages of the selection

process.

The company also said its interim chief executive officer,

Joseph Mills, has stepped down effective immediately and added

that the departure was unrelated to any operational issues or

accounting matters.

Shares of Talos were up about 1.2% at $10.31 in morning

trade.

Mills held interim charge after CEO Tim Duncan stepped down

in August last year after more than 12 years at the helm.

During Duncan's tenure Talos made multiple oil

discoveries and last year sold its carbon capture and

sequestration unit, which was led by chief sustainability

officer Robin Fielder, to French firm TotalEnergies

for about $148 million.

In October, the company had adopted a so-called poison pill

to keep Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's investment firm from

gaining control of the company after it acquired a 24% stake in

the oil and gas firm.

The company expects the new CEO candidate to join by the

end of the current quarter.