TransAtlantic Petroleum’s board of directors has accepted the resignation of president Ian J. Delahunty, according to a news release. The resignation will become effective May 27.

Delahunty plans to start his own oil and gas company, but will continue to be employed by TransAtlantic in an advisory capacity for a brief transition period. The board expects to appoint Todd C. Dutton as president of the company and James R. Huling as COO, effective May 27.

Dutton has served as president of Longfellow Energy, a Dallas-based independent oil and natural gas E&P company. He brings 37 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, focusing on exploration, acquisitions and property evaluation. He has served in various supervisory and management roles at Texas Pacific Oil Co., Coquina Oil Corp., BEREXCO Inc. and Riata Energy, the release said. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in petroleum land management from the University of Oklahoma.

Huling has served as COO of Longfellow since May 2012. From 2007 until May 2012, he served as president of Kiamichi Energy Corp., a Fort Worth, Texas-based consulting and production company that he founded. He brings nearly 30 years of experience in reservoir engineering, drilling and completion operations and production optimization. Huling began his career with Kerr-McGee Corp. and subsequently held engineering and operational roles with Encore Acquisition Co., Riata Energy and Ovation Energy Partners before founding Kiamichi Energy Corp, the release said. He earned a Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma.