May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, may sell its 800 Australian fuel outlets for A$500 million ($379 million), the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where it got the information.

Exxon started sale talks as part of a strategy to quit fuel retailing to focus on more profitable oil and gas exploration, the newspaper said.

A gasoline venture between Chevron Corp.’s Caltex Australia Ltd. unit and supermarket operator Woolworths Ltd. is the most likely buyer, the Review said, citing industry observers it didn’t name.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rebecca Keenan in Melbourne at rkeenan5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 11, 2009 18:06 EDT