"The first and second quarter will be very difficult... It is a big shock for producing countries. It reminds me of (the oil crisis in) 1986," Dudley told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"Prices will remain low for longer but not forever " he said, adding that he believed markets would begin to rebalance later in 2016 with oversupply shrinking and investment falling.

(Editing by Jason Neely)