The chief executive of Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, said on Wednesday he did not see the global oil market tightening before 2018.
Ian Taylor also expressed skepticism over the significance of a potential OPEC deal on freezing production, Reuters reported.
"If you freeze production at a level that is clearly above demand ... Is that bullish?" Taylor asked a Bloomberg conference in London.
Investors were closely watching an OPEC meeting in Algiers this week anticipating that the organization would finally agree a plan to tackle a global crude surplus that sent oil prices tumbling in 2014. But so far, the talks have remained just that.
Taylor said it would be difficult for the market to rebalance with underwhelming global economic growth meeting slightly better-than-expected production. He expects oil demand growth this year at 1.2 million-1.3 million barrels per day.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest Wall Street bank in commodities, added to the pessimism, saying in a report on Tuesday that the near-term oil "supply-demand balance is weaker than previously expected". The bank lowered its price forecast for New York oil futures for the fourth quarter to $43 a barrel, down from $50 a barrel.
