Weatherford CEO sees N. American boost in 2nd half

NEW ORLEANS, April 8 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Weatherford International Ltd (WFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday he expects the company's North American drilling markets to show the most improvement in the second half of the year.

"North America will start being helpful as opposed to being a struggle," Bernard Duroc-Danner, Weatherford's CEO, told investors at the Howard Weil Energy Conference. "I expect North America to be a little bit above the trend line, both in the U.S. and Canada."

The executive said the company's U.S. business should have "some very decent quarters ahead, especially in the second half of the year."

A sharp decline in the drilling rig count in Canada and slowing growth in the U.S. have weighed on results for Weatherford in past quarters.

But now, a spike in natural gas prices has improved the outlook in both countries.

Shares of Weatherford were up 40, or 0.5 percent, at $76.91 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)