Oil services company Maersk Oil said it would diminish its workforce at its office in Houston, though it remains focused on developing deep U.S. waters.

The company in a statement said its staff in Houston would play a "key role" in managing interests in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It confirmed Thursday to energy reporting website Rigzone it would lay off about 50 employees and reassign eight others to its headquarters in Copenhagen.

The company in July said was taking a $1.7 billion impairment on its assets in Brazil and leave the country behind despite what it said was "significant" potential for oil development.

Last month, Maersk said it's trying to breathe new life into an industry working with a fleet of offshore rigs in need of replacement.

The company this year established a goal of reaching further into ultra-deep waters and ultra-harsh drilling environments with new rig technologies.