Oilfield services provider Weatherford International Plc, burdened by a heavy debt load and years of losses, said on Friday that it would file for chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported. The company, which at its peak was valued at more than $50 billion, never recovered from the 2014 oil price collapse. Efforts under Chief Executive Officer Mark McCollum to quickly sell assets and pare debt struggled. Weatherford expects to reduce its long-term debt by more than $5.8 billion, through the restructuring. Weatherford’s shares plunged 61 percent to 14 cents in extended trading on Friday after the company reported the plan to seek protection from creditors and a wider quarterly loss. For the period ended March 31, it posted a loss of $481 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with a loss of $245 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 5.4 percent to $1.35 billion. Rising losses had left Weatherford without access to suitable financing and sparked the departure of key employees, it said in a securities filing. It failed to hit first quarter cost reduction targets due to “market headwinds” and difficulties cutting its manufacturing operations, it said.
