Weatherford CEO’s Rebound Plan Relies On Getting Smaller

Four years ago, oilfield company Weatherford International Plc (NYSE: WFT) pledged to sell non-core businesses and make paying down debt its top priority after years of borrowing and over spending. 

It almost worked. Asset sales provided some $1.8 billion to pare debt, and Weatherford’s stock nearly doubled that year. But when oil prices plummeted in mid-2014 and customer spending on new wells followed, Weatherford failed to cut costs fast enough and payments on its debt jumped, killing its stock price rally.

Mark McCollum, the company’s third CEO in two years, thinks his push to simplify its sprawling supplier networks and corporate organization will help turn around one of the largest energy companies yet to emerge from the oil price collapse.