It is understood the imminent deal would kick off in Victoria, with a gradual roll-out around the nation. Sources suggested the Coles Myer was negotiating to acquire all or part of Shell's franchised retail network, which is dominated by six private companies nationally.

As evidence of the impending deal, the report said a search of Australia's internet registries revealed that the domain names colesfuel.com.au and colespetrol.com.au have already been registered.

Coles Myer is keen to pursue the deal with Shell in a bid to close the gap between itself and Woolworths, which gives its supermarkets shoppers the opportunity to buy fuel from its outlets at 4c a litre off, provided they spend on groceries at a Woolworths supermarket.