Delta Air Lines Inc., whose daily 2011 fuel bill was $32 million, may buy a ConocoPhillips refinery to help save 10 percent on a significant portion of its fuel needs, a person familiar with the matter said.

Talks are under way about an idled ConocoPhillips facility in Trainer, Pennsylvania, said two people who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. Delta would get fuel from Trainer and from other refiners in exchange for products made there that Delta doesn't use, one person said.

ConocoPhillips plans to shut the Trainer operation unless it can find a buyer by the end of May as tighter profit margins squeeze East Coast refineries. For Atlanta-based Delta, a deal would help shave annual fuel costs that reached $11.8 billion last year for its main jet operations and regional partners, or 36 percent of all spending.