A South Korean navy destroyer has caught up to a supertanker carrying about US$160m of oil believed to have been hijacked by Somali pirates.

Shell, BP, Mobil and Gull have cut petrol prices by up to five cents a litre ahead of the long weekend.

Shell's NZ petrol stations are now locally owned, with Infratil and the Super Fund saying that a large chunk of profits will stay in NZ.

Infratil and the NZ Super Fund says they have finalised the purchase of Shell New Zealand in a $696.5 million joint venture deal.

If Govt projections over our petroleum sector bear fruit, NZ could be the oil sheikhs of the Pacific, writes Fran O'Sullivan.