Weatherford

Oilfield services giant Weatherford International plc has emerged from voluntary bankruptcy in stronger financial shape after eliminating $6.2 billion of outstanding funded debt.

Weatherford International plc, one of the largest oilfield services (OFS) companies in the world, is restructuring to reduce long-term debt and establish a “more sustainable” business.

Weatherford International plc’s management team has been working for close to two years to extricate itself from a legacy jam, with a stumbling share price and debt issues looming, but CEO Mark McCollum is optimistic that the target to generate positive cash flow remains on track for year’s end.

Weatherford International plc, the No. 4 oilfield services (OFS) operator in the world, on Monday agreed to sell its surface data logging business for $50 million, just days after it was notified it could be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Seasonal improvements in Canada and stronger activity overseas could not offset a drop-off in U.S. activity during the third quarter, but a transformation is taking effect as Weatherford International plc uses muscles it’s never used before, the CEO said Monday.

Battered oilfield services (OFS) operator Weatherford International plc’s “transformation” story appears to have kicked into second gear as the company crossed one major hurdle in its efforts to trim its business while also reporting improvements in revenue and operating income.

North American onshore drilling carried the “earnings growth torch” for Schlumberger Ltd. in the first quarter, even though softer pressure pumping pricing and activity caused less equipment to be reactivated than expected. Halliburton Co., Weatherford International plc and Baker Hughes, a GE Company, also reported tightening conditions, likely leading to better pricing in the months ahead.

More sales in the Permian Basin and an increasingly positive outlook for international markets have given Weatherford International plc a “light wind at our back,” CEO Mark McCollum said last Friday.

Weatherford International plc has sold its U.S. pressure pumping and pump-down perforating assets to a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd. for $430 million, scrapping a plan initiated in early 2017 to partner in the domestic arena.