Royal Dutch Shell plc (ENXTAM:RDSA) is considering the sale of refineries and petrol stations in Australia to free up cash, the Australian Financial Review reported on December 31, 2014. Royal Dutch is in talks with two parties; an unnamed large private equity firm and a consortium including Macquarie Group Limited (ASX:MQG) over the AUD 3 billion sale of 900 petrol stations and its refinery in Geelong, the Australian Financial Review said, citing sources, who described the talks as "preliminary".