“Badly needed energy infrastructure is being held back by special-interest groups, entrenched bureaucracies and radical activists.” That statement this week from President Trump is bound to elicit more than a few “amens” from oil and gas pipeline developers.

The president announced two sweeping executive orders aimed at jump-starting projects stalled by adverse court rulings and state permitting delays. One would rein in state governments’ power to use Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to deny construction permits. It would also direct US agencies to loosen regulation on shipping LNG by rail and truck, seek measures to limit shareholders’ ability to alter companies’ environmental policies and challenge ESG focused retirement funds on the grounds they’re neglecting fiduciary responsibility.

We’re watching closely for any sign of revived activity at delayed natural gas projects such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, as well as challenged oil pipes like Enbridge Inc’s (TSX: ENB, NYSE: ENB) upgrades of Line 3 in Minnesota and Line 5 in Michigan.

Change in the US energy industry has been dramatic over the past decade.

Sentiment has shifted from a culture of energy scarcity to one of abundance and the US overtook Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer.

And, not long ago, you would have been laughed out of a room for predicting that the US would ever export meaningful quantities of oil. Soon however, the nation looks on track to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest exporter of crude oil on a full-year basis.

We’d argue the shale revolution has also been one of the most important positive developments for the US economy in recent years, helping to reduce dependence on energy imports from politically unstable countries, revitalizing vast swathes of the US manufacturing industry and giving us all a break in the form of lower gasoline prices.

The end of the shale revolution does NOT mean that all of these positive changes and economic trends will reverse, nor does it mean that US energy production will fall again. It does mean that the industry is maturing and that has profound implications for investors.

Gone are the days of growth for growth’s sake, access to seemingly unlimited pools of capital at ultra-low prices and boom-or-bust shale drilling cycles. The winners in the next phase of the shale boom will be disciplined producers that can generate reliable free cash flow with moderate oil and gas prices and services and equipment firms that focus on driving efficiency rather than simple providing basic, commodity services to their customers.

Earnings reporting and guidance call season often provoke investor confusion, angst and unfortunately all too often some very bad decisions. But they’re also where the rubber meets the road in this business.

Basically, companies have to own up to what’s going on with their operations, how strong their balance sheets really are and what challenges they face that could possibly derail their fortunes.

Earnings reporting seasons have more often than not been unhappy times for energy investors since oil prices first cut under $100 a barrel back in mid-2014. But for at least a year, we’ve noticed a decided change for the better, at least for the sector’s best in class companies. Basically, companies have gotten their acts together when they could, or else fallen of the map entirely.

The result is our Energy and Income Advisor coverage universes of producers, services companies, midstream/master limited partnerships and international companies have been winnowed down considerably. The vast majority is either decidedly back on track, or else are virtual zombies awaiting oblivion.

We’ve yet to see any real investor excitement flow back into the survivors. But there is certainly a lot to get pumped about when it comes to US companies, with surging energy exports and expanding output of oil and gas. Even in Canada there’s reason for optimism, as new transport capacity has cut the price differential between Western Canada Select and West Texas Intermediate Cushing to only around $10 a barrel.

There are multiple explanations why investors’ money hasn’t flowed back into energy stocks yet, starting with anxiety about energy prices and the global economy. But it always has when energy companies have continued to drive down costs and boost revenue on a sustained basis. And our bet is it’s only a matter of time at this point.