Unrest in Libya has crippled the country's oil production with severe fuel shortages in the country and exports decimated.

Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves, and until recently accounted for a significant portion of the world's oil. But foreign workers fled shortly after the unrest began. Most reserves are in the east of the country, now held by the rebels. Complexes at Brega and Ras Lanouf were responsible for around 1.5m barrels of daily exports.

Abdeljalil Mohamed Mayuf, spokesman of Arabian Gulf Oil Company,said, "Before in the normal situation, we produced 425,000 barrels per day. And for the moment, from the beginning of this revolution, we reduced our production to about 100,000 barrels per day."

Shortages are now being felt further afield.

Abdeljalil Mohamed Mayuf said, "We are not in a crisis you know. But in the other side, Tripoli suffers from, you know the pump station is in shortage, so they don't have any, I think they live in, what they have as storage capacity of gasoline, you know, for the cars and they are in, their situation is very hard."

Libyan rebels have promised to resume exports from the oil ports they have captured, but experts say exports are likely to be halted for months.