The Mineral Products Association has appointed Paul Adeleke as CEO, bringing experience from the Global Cement and Concrete Association, RICS, Philip Morris International and senior UK Government roles in the Department for Business & Trade and HMRC. Adeleke signals a focus on securing a more supportive policy framework for aggregates, cement and concrete producers amid cost pressures, high energy prices and supply chain resilience concerns. He succeeds executive chair Chris Leese, who has led the association’s management team through two years of major market and regulatory turbulence.

US Department of Energy is offering up to $65.5 million in cost-shared funding for projects that convert stranded, flared or contaminant-limited oil and gas streams into high-value, transportable products and field-test modular gas conversion and sour gas processing units in active basins. Additional funding targets advanced materials and equipment—compressors, valves, piping, storage tanks, coatings and alloys—to cut product losses and harden midstream infrastructure. A third track backs digital twins, continuous monitoring and full-scale smart test sites to optimise upstream and midstream operations, building on a separate $150 million programme for unconventional reservoirs and hydraulic fracture characterisation.

Nista’s second Major Projects Annual Report, covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, reports improving delivery confidence on parts of the £700bn-plus National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline but flags persistent schedule and cost risks on complex rail, energy and digital schemes. The authority backs tighter portfolio management, earlier constructability input and stronger use of digital twins and alliancing contracts, yet stops short of calling for statutory planning reform or changes to Development Consent Order processes. For engineers, the message is to plan for prolonged consenting and stakeholder engagement as a fixed constraint rather than a variable.