By David French and Andres Gonzalez

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Talos Energy TALO.N, a mid-sized U.S. oil producer with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, is poised to name veteran Shell SHEL.L executive Paul Goodfellow as its next CEO, two people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The appointment of Goodfellow, who currently serves as chief internal auditor at Shell, is expected to be announced as soon as this week, the sources said, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential.

Goodfellow will succeed Talos' founder and long-time CEO Tim Duncan, who abruptly left the company in August after helping it grow into the fifth-largest oil and natural gas producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico during his 12-year stint.

A Shell veteran of 34 years, Goodfellow has held numerous roles at the energy major, which is the largest operator in the Gulf of Mexico. This includes previously serving as executive vice president for deep-water operations and as chairman of Shell Midstream Partners, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Talos and Shell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Houston-based Talos, which has a market capitalization of about $1.8 billion, has been searching for a new chief executive since Duncan's surprise departure. On Jan. 6, Talos said it had identified a new CEO, without naming the person, at the same time that interim CEO Joseph Mills stepped down to pursue other opportunities.

Since Duncan's departure, the company also weathered a spat with top shareholder Carlos Slim, whose investment firm holds a 24% stake in the company. Talos briefly adopted a so-called poison pill to prevent the Mexican billionaire from trying to take control of the company.

Talos was founded in 2012 by Duncan, with the backing of private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Riverstone Holdings, which invested a combined $600 million in the company.

The oil producer, which went public in 2018 through a reverse merger with fellow offshore operator Stone Energy, produced 96,500 barrels per day of oil equivalent on average in the third quarter, according to its most recent quarterly earnings presentation.

(Reporting by David French in New York and Andres Gonzalez in London; Editing by Jamie Freed)

((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com;))