Talos Energy founder and CEO quits

Tim Duncan, the founder and CEO of Gulf of Mexico-focused oil company Talos Energy, has left the firm.

A Friday press release from Houston-based Talos contained no statement from Duncan and no reasons for his departure. 

The company, which has a stake in one of Mexico's most promising oil fields, did not reply to a request for more information.

Business mogul and Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, is the largest shareholder in Talos. He is a major ally of the government and supports the energy nationalism of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. 

Since the end of 2023, Slim's family office has almost doubled its stake in Talos Energy from 12.2% to 22.3%, according to company filings. 

The risks chapter of the Talos Energy annual report for 2023 says that "the Slim family may have different interests than other holders of our common stock and may make decisions adverse to your interests."

Offshore pioneer

Talos Energy is a trailblazer for foreign participation in the Mexican upstream. In 2017 it discovered the Zama offshore field in shallow waters. Zama was the first oil discovery in Mexico to be made by a private company, following the brief liberalization of the industry under the previous government.

Talos was all set to operate Zama until Mexico's energy ministry named national oil company Pemex as operator in 2021, a highly contentious ruling that Duncan called disappointing.

Subsidiary Talos Mexico holds a 17.4% stake in Zama while Pemex has 50.4%. 

Zama contains an estimated 750Mboe and is expected to produce up to 180,000b/d at its peak. The partners in Zama, who include Harbour Energy and Wintershall Dea, have not yet made a final investment decision on how to develop the field. 

Slim in the upstream

As well as building his stake in Talos Energy, Slim’s Grupo Carso acquired a 49.9% share of Talos Mexico for US$125mn in 2023.

Carso is increasingly active in the Mexican upstream. This year it completed the US$530mn acquisition of local operator PetroBal and is currently developing the Lakach deepwater gas field with Pemex.

Talos Energy said that Joseph A. Mills, a member of the board since March 2024, will serve as interim CEO until a successor to Duncan is named.