This is a good year to be in the energy business, say industry executives, as the U.S. shale revolution continues to roll through North America—sometimes heading in new and unforeseen directions.

In the U.S., upstream producers continue to sign leases in rich-gas and oil fairways, but they must balance their development plans with the need to access high-price markets. Meanwhile, gathering and processing companies are building out the new infrastructure grid, state by state. Until the grid is complete, some producers are revisiting such temporary transportation solutions as railways, barges and even tanker trucks to move oil and gas liquids from wellheads to refineries.

Certainly, no road to success is traveled without a few bumps along the way. Recently in the midstream space, rumblings in corner offices have been anticipating a shortage of custom-built 10-ton valves and giant pipeline pumps that are essential to the many in-progress infrastructure projects. Various American and non-U.S. steel mills are ramping up new and existing furnaces to forge pipes, many of which require diameters of up to 42 inches, to ensure the grid’s installation. Analysts report that concerns are growing that manufacturing and service and supply firms responsible for these key pipeline components might be straining to keep pace.

In fact, midstream spending has already outpaced previous expectations. In 2011, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America predicted that North America will require at least $31 billion for an additional 19,000 miles of oil pipelines as liquids production surges to an expected 12.7 million barrels (bbl.) per day by 2035. IIR Energy, a provider of supply- side market analysis, recently estimated that some $10 billion will be invested in crude oil pipeline projects in 2012 and 2013, four times the average annual spending of the previous seven years.

The construction boom will be driven, at least in part, by such companies as Enterprise Products Partners LP, Shell Pipeline Co. and Plains All American Pipeline LP. These three are responsible for some $20 billion worth of projects to build, expand or reverse about two dozen pipelines. Other firms active in the midstream crude build-out space include Sunoco Logistics, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Koch Pipeline, Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp.

Some projects are intended to change direction of the flow of oil from the north, such as from Canada, North Dakota (where production from the Bakken play ramped up from almost nothing to more than 600,000 bbl. per day in five years) and the Northeastern U.S., to southern refineries, both inland and along the Gulf Coast. Other projects will move crude west to east, such as those that will deliver Eagle Ford crude to Corpus Christi. The new production pathways will help deliver low-priced, landlocked crude generated by the burgeoning unconventional plays to established refineries and ports.

The corporate world of midstream has also experienced massive change, as several major integrated companies are splitting into discrete upstream, midstream and downstream businesses. The breakups are driven by companies’ needs to satisfy investor appetites for high-risk and high-reward E&P investments and for lowrisk infrastructure investments.

New directions are also clear in the transfer of leadership from one generation to the next. In the midstream, the build out and management of new infrastructure is expected to last for generations. As the industry veterans begin to retire, a wave of young, dynamic workers are bringing new ideas, fresh energy and contagious enthusiasm into the sector.

Closer to home, Midstream Business is also changing. This will be my last column, as I ease into retirement. Hart Energy has put in place a strong, new team that will lead our information side of the midstream sector to new heights, and I believe you will be pleased. I bid you all a fond adieu and cheers to the new generation!