July 20 (UPI) -- One week before it announces its second quarter earnings, a subsidiary of drilling services company Weatherford said it was offloading non-core assets.
A subsidiary of the company said Friday it sold its entire ownership in Sunita Hydrocolloids, a company that makes a gum that's used in pressure pumping solutions. Though terms were not disclosed, eh company said it would use the proceeds to reduce its debt.
"The production of guar gum is no longer a core focus for the company," Weatherford President and CEO Mark A. McCollum said in a statement.
Weatherford said it was "another small step" in maximizing shareholder value.
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Last week, Weatherford signed a $287.5 million agreed to sell off its land drilling rig operations in Algeria, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as well as two idle land rigs in Iraq. Through the agreement, ADES International Holding more than doubled its payroll count and adds 31 rigs and related contracts to its portfolio.
Weatherford, one of the largest oilfield services in the world, reported first quarter revenue at $1.42 billion, down 4 percent from the fourth quarter, but 3 percent higher year-over-year.
Weatherford in 2015 closed six service facilities and 90 operating facilities in North America while at the same time completing its target of cutting payrolls by 14,000. The following year, the company said a headcount reduction of up to 6,000 was possible.
The company releases its second-quarter report July 27 and it will provide a glimpse of the health of the exploration and production side of an energy sector hobbled by the downturn in the price of crude oil in early 2016.
