Shell is said to have received final bids for UK North Sea Gas Assets

Shell Plc reportedly has reduced the number of bidders to just three for its Southern North Sea Gas Fields.

Perenco SA Ithaca Energy Plc, and Viaro Energy Ltd. bid on a package of UK-based assets, including the Leman Alpha Hub, the Clipper Field, and the Bacton Gas Terminal, said the people, who asked not to be named because they were discussing private information. One of the sources said that assets could be worth between $600 and $800 million.

Shell, Perenco Ithaca, and Viaro representatives declined to comment.

Over the last decade, the ownership of North Sea oil fields has changed dramatically as major oil companies have largely withdrawn from the basin. Private equity firms, smaller exploration companies and new players have acquired assets.

Although such companies might bring new funds to the area, the UK’s decision last year to impose a tax on windfalls has put profitability in question.

Two people have said that the results of Shell’s sales process will be announced within the next few weeks.

Elon Musk informed Pentagon officials that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call regarding the satellite-based Internet that SpaceX provides to Ukraine’s Military, The New Yorker reported.

The magazine reported that Musk shared the information with Colin Kahl at the time, who was then the Pentagon’s highest-ranking policy official. He told Kahl about Ukrainian forces losing their connection to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Starlink as they entered territory claimed by Russia.

Kahl, in an interview with the New Yorker, said that Kahl was worried that Starlink was being viewed in Russia as supporting the Ukrainian war effort. He was also looking for ways to appease Russian concerns.

Musk did not respond to an email request for comment. Kahl, who returned to a position at Stanford University last week, Kahl did not respond to any requests for comment.

Jeff Jurgensen, spokesman for the Defense Department, said via email: “We are aware of the coverage of and interest in Starlink and the Department does contract with Starlink to provide services of this kind.” We have stated that due to the importance of these systems, we are not releasing any additional information at this time.

Musk, SpaceX CEO, denied speaking to Putin in October. The billionaire claimed that he had spoken with the Russian President only once about space, around 18 months ago, in a tweet posted on Twitter.

The magazine article revives controversy that began after Musk posted plans for peace, which the Kremlin praised but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised. Musk then threatened to stop funding Ukraine’s access to Starlink after Ukrainian troops complained about Starlink service outages.

Musk reversed his position after SpaceX requested the US and its NATO allies to pay more for Starlink Ukraine. He pledged to continue funding this initiative. The Defense Department announced in June that it had signed a contract for the company.

In an effort to boost its long-term return, one of the UK’s largest workplace pension plans is increasing allocations to private equity.

The National Employment Savings Trust will invest up to a fifth (or $40 billion) of the pension funds of its younger members in private companies as it seeks to increase the risk taken by the state-backed fund, which has a budget of approximately PS31.5 billion.

Mark Fawcett is the chief executive of a subsidiary investment of the National Employment Savings Trust (or Nest). He said, “We will increase our investment in private markets, including more money invested into unlisted equity.” “Our position is that we do not want Nest members to miss out on an asset type which is so sought-after.”

Nest, a London-based money manager, has joined a growing number of managers who are focusing on private markets to find alternative sources of return in an uncertain economy. BlackRock Inc. said recently that investors, including pension funds and family offices, are planning to boost allocations for private equity and credit in this year despite rising interest rates and recession fears.

UK pension funds allocations for private markets are also part of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s reforms, which aim to boost economic growth through investment in innovative industries. After a wave of criticism from businesses about a hostile environment for companies and policy inertia after the UK’s exit from the European Union, the chancellor faces pressure to demonstrate that Britain is open for trade.

Other large pension funds, including Aviva Plc Legal & General Group Plc M&G Plc also have committed to increasing investments in unlisted companies within the next decade.