Geopolitics dominated energy conversations, with Venezuela/Maduro, Iran, Greenland, and China all prominent. Coverage of Venezuela and Iran shifted from oil price impacts to sanctions and supply/political risks. News about Greenland and China framed energy less as a near-term supply issue and more as a matter of long-term strategic competition tied to security and geopolitical influence.

Data center discussions increasingly positioned load growth and electricity prices as policy fights intensifying ahead of midterms.

Attention continues to center on the growing strain on the U.S. power system, with electricity demand, reliability concerns, and prices still dominating the conversation. Nuclear saw an uptick after months of decline, driven by the Bezos Earth Fund’s backing of nuclear as a scalable, firm, zero-carbon solution. Renewables, especially offshore wind, faced scrutiny over permitting and grid integration. Coal was framed as a costly, policy-driven response to winter reliability pressures.

Sentiment dropped in January (from 72% positive in December to 65% positive) as negative coverage increased, driven by geopolitical tensions and reliability concerns tied to winter weather events.

Trade coverage underscored scale and infrastructure as key advantages for large, well-capitalized energy companies, such as Chevron and ConocoPhillips. Oil returned to focus as Venezuela-related geopolitics reshaped supply flows, while M&A concentrated among repeat buyers able to deploy capital quickly amid volatility. Data center growth elevated interconnection and PJM capacity expansion as central constraints and opportunities across power markets.

'U.S.' was the most frequently used term this month, reflecting its central role in major international developments affecting global energy security. ‘U.S.,’ ‘Venezuela,’ ‘China,’ and ‘Trump’ also ranked in the top 10 amid a major U.S.–Venezuela oil deal redirecting shipments from China. ‘Infrastructure’ trended due to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy assets causing widespread power outages.

#Venezuela, #Oil, and #OOTT surfaced this month as discussion centered on the U.S.–Venezuela oil export deal and Europe’s ban on Russian gas, with concerns about EU reliance on U.S. LNG. #Canada and #cnpoli remained prominent as debate over Canadian energy policy intensified, with calls to reduce foreign imports and expand exports. #EnergySecurity trended amid geopolitical tensions involving Venezuelan and Russian oil supplies.