Oil and gas

• For the first time in its history, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was said to consider launching an influence campaign in the United States to emphasize indirectly to U.S. lawmakers the role it plays in assisting the U.S. economy, according to OPEC officials.

• The United States sent a letter to several German companies warning them that they could face sanctions if they continue involvement in Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project, according to a U.S. embassy spokesman — an action that was met with criticism in Germany’s government.

PG&E bankruptcy

• Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. announced it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, one day after Chief Executive Geisha Williams stepped down from the company, which could face billions of dollars in liability costs for its potential role in igniting wildfires in California.

• A bankruptcy of PG&E would reportedly pause over 750 civil lawsuits brought against the utility; risk dissolving long-term wholesale electricity contracts; make it more difficult to recover damages related to California wildfires; and complicate the state’s ability to meet carbon emissions reduction targets, according to lawmakers and experts in law, energy and finance.

Electric transportation

• Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said the company has “no choice” but to reduce its full-time staff by 3,400, or 7 percent, after its “most challenging” year, even as preliminary results suggested the company made a profit in the fourth quarter, according to Musk.

• Automaker Volkswagen AG announced an $800 million investment to manufacture electric cars at its sole U.S. factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., with production of a compact sport utility vehicle starting in 2022.

• Electric scooter companies Lime and Bird Rides Inc. are both valued at about $2 billion following the latest rounds of funding, according to multiple people — far below the $3 billion-or-higher valuations the companies reportedly wanted a few months ago.

Climate change

• Acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler told senators that he would not call climate change “the greatest crisis” but rather “a huge issue” that needs a global response.

• A study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences said that ocean temperatures reached their highest recorded level in 2018, surpassing 2017 and making the last five years the warmest on record for the oceans.

Interior Department

• The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management called some employees back to work to handle assignments on upcoming oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, according to an updated shutdown plan. The lease sales, set for March and August, would otherwise be canceled or delayed, according to an Interior spokesman.

• Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has taken a job as managing director of North Carolina-based Artillery One, a private investment company that works on energy, financial technology and cybersecurity “investing opportunities.”

• The House and Senate are both in session this week.

• The EPA has scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan., at 1 p.m. on the proposed replacement Waters of the United States definition.

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its 2019 Short-Term Energy Outlook at the Bipartisan Policy Center on Thursday at 9 a.m.

1) PG&E Prepares for Bankruptcy Amid Wildfire Fallout
Russell Gold et al., The Wall Street Journal

2) A World of Worn Out EV Batteries
Richard Stubbe, Bloomberg Businessweek

3) U.S. Energy Department to develop lithium recycling research center
Timothy Gardner, Reuters

4) PG&E Bankruptcy Threatens California Wildfire Suits, Green-Power Contracts
Russell Gold et al., The Wall Street Journal

5) A Diminished Monument
Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post

6) Former US Interior boss takes job at investment company
Matthew Brown, The Associated Press

7) Renewable Energy: A Gender Perspective
International Renewable Energy Agency

8) Bernhardt must renew ‘acting’ heads by month’s end
Jennifer Yachnin, E&E News

9) Andrew Wheeler, at E.P.A. Confirmation Hearing, Walks a Fine Line on Climate Change
Lisa Friedman, The New York Times

10) VW to Spend $800 Million to Produce E-Cars on Tesla’s Home Turf
Christoph Rauwald, Bloomberg