a glut of #2
サウジアラビアのサラマン王は，国家の原油に対する方針を決めてきたアリ・ヌアイミ氏を退任させました。アリ・ヌアイミ氏は，メジャーオイル業界の出身で，国の原油政策にも20年以上携わってきたベテランです。サウジアラビアでは，原油輸出による収入が7割を超えております。近年の原油価格下落に対して，シェア一辺倒の姿勢で，減産を行わない方針を取ってきたアリ・ヌアイミ氏とサラマン王の考えが合わなかったのかもしれません。世界的に影響力をもつアリ・ヌアイミ氏の退任は，原油市場全体にも影響を及ぼすと思われます。
記事の中で気になった表現は"a glut of"です。『Wisdom英和辞典第三版』（三省堂）には「(商品などの) 過度の供給, 供給過剰」などと定義されております。Oxford Dictionaries.comには"An excessively abundant supply of something"と定義されております。古フランス語で"to swallow"という意味で使われてきたラテン語に由来する"gluttire"に語源があると書かれておりました（Oxford Dictionaries.com）。(Ume)
Saudi Arabia government overhaul sees oil minister removed
For 20 years, Ali al-Naimi was regarded as the most powerful figure in the global oil industry. He ran the biggest exporter of crude, Saudi Aramco, and was seen as being able to drive the price of oil on the markets through the producers' group Opec.
Over the past few years, he has been involved in a battle to protect Saudi Arabia's share of global oil sales in the face of competition from newer producers in the US. His refusal to cut oil production led to a glut of supply - more than the market needed. This resulted in a sharp fall in the price of oil, and so cheaper petrol at the pumps. It has also meant the Saudi kingdom has earned less money.
Ali al-Naimi has characterised this as a fight to secure oil sales in the long term, one he hopes Saudi Arabia will win and US fracking companies will lose. But it is a gamble. The fall in the price of oil has been much more extreme - and longer-lasting - than many analysts expected.
