Maersk Oil confirmed to Rigzone that it would let 54 employees go from its Houston office and relocate eight employees from Houston to its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The operational challenges of growing a non-operated exploration portfolio in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico prompted Maersk to scale back exploration in the basin, resulting to a refocusing of Maersk’s Houston office and merger of a number of activities with global functions in Copenhagen. Maersk Oil is part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.

The company will retain 150 employees as part of its refocused Houston organization, Maersk spokesperson Charlotte Holst Frahm told Rigzone in a statement.

“The Houston team will continue to play a key role in managing Maersk Oil’s interests in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and supporting its key project developments in deepwater, including the Chissonga field offshore Angola, and the Chevron Corp.-operated Jack discovery and Buckskin prospect in the U.S. Gulf. Jack is expected to begin production late this year, according to Maersk’s website.

Last month, Maersk said it would take an impairment charge of $1.7 billion for its Brazilian assets and sell off its stake in its only producing Brazilian oilfield, Polvo, to Brazil-based HRT O&G Exploracaeo e Producaeo de Petroleo Ltda.