Oilfield services provider Weatherford International Plc, burdened by a heavy debt load and years of losses, said on Friday it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 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% 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 […]