Weatherford CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner Leaves

Weatherford International Plc said on Wednesday Chief Executive Bernard Duroc-Danner has left the company, effective immediately, and the oilfield services company named Chief Financial Officer Krishna Shivram its interim CEO.

The company's shares, which were halted for news pending, surged 33.2 percent in late trading and closed up at $5.06.

Shivram will continue as chief financial officer until a new CFO is named, Weatherford said.

Weatherford's unit, Weatherford International LLC , agreed in September to pay a $140 million penalty to settle charges that it inflated earnings between 2007 and 2012 by using deceptive income tax accounting.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in October that Ernst & Young will pay $11.8 million to settle charges over "failed audits" of Weatherford International Plc.

Reporting by Arathy S Nair