If the new company hikes fertilizer prices in the United States, lower-cost offshore producers would increase shipments, he said.

The unusually high number of storms coupled with pandemic safety precautions has made this year a costly and difficult one for offshore producers.

Big offshore producers like Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corp and Anadarko Petroleum Corp need no such reminders, as deepwater drilling remains largely idle.

Offshore producers including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum pulled workers from platforms to safer quarters onshore.

Offshore producers were particularly hard hit by this price drop, given the higher costs of extracting oil this way versus many onshore fields.