Houston-based Weatherford (NYSE: WFT) generated operating income in Latin America of US$97mn in the third quarter, down 7% from US$104mn in Q2, the company said in its quarterly webcast.

The region performed below expectations due to a sharp slowdown in operations in Colombia in the period.

"Activity in Colombia was curtailed due to regulatory changes and delays," CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner said. "Activity has since rebounded some although full recovery may not occur until 2013."

Other parts of the region made advances but not sufficiently to offset the impact of the slowdown in Colombia on revenues, which decreased to US$768mn in the quarter from US$782mn in Q2.

Weatherford anticipates revenues and operating income to progress modestly in the final quarter of the year.

The CEO said he expects Latin America to have a very strong 2013 with increasing margins across the region and operational improvements in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina.