The number 40, so significant for the religiously inclined, is meaningful for those praying for a rebound in energy prices too. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, broke through that psychologically important level Tuesday for the first time since February 2009. It may seem like it will take a miracle to turn things around, given the impasse in Vienna last week. Leaders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries effectively threw up their hands and said “let the market sort things out.” It will, but not before more pain for energy producers, both state-owned and private. About 40% of the market—that number again—comes from OPEC and is engaged in a war for market share. Their collective output is seen rising in 2016 as sanctions against Iran are lifted. But another big chunk of the market, private companies that no longer quite deserve the name “ big oil ,” […]