The sale would mean Australia's Macquarie Group (>> Macquarie Group Ltd) and its partner Glencore Xstrata (>> Glencore Xstrata PLC) were not successful in their efforts to buy the assets, the newspaper said without attributing sources.

Shell has been planning to sell the business, which includes a refinery, import terminals and 900 service stations, as part of a reported worldwide divestment program under CEO Ben Van Beurden, worth about $15 billion.

A Shell spokesman in Australia told Reuters he would not comment on "speculation". A Glencore Xstrata spokesman declined to comment.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Richard Pullin)

Stocks treated in this article : Macquarie Group Ltd, Glencore Xstrata PLC