Cars lined up in front of a petrol station. Screen grab from a video filmed by our Observer.

One of our Observers has sent us images of linesof cars queuing at petrol stations in eastern Algeria. He explains that petrol is being illegally exported to Libya, causing a shortage in his region – which is rather ironic in a country that is one of the world’s biggest oil exporters.

In Libya, demand for petrol has skyrocketed since the start of the civil war, spawning an extensive network of smugglers. Petrol is smuggled from Algeria through Tunisia to reach Libya, creating shortages in Tunisia as well. Shortages first hit Algeria several months ago, but they have gotten much worse in the past weeks.

Petrol shortages are rare in Algeria, which is the world’s 13th biggest oil producer and 9th biggest exporter. Petrol prices at the pump are among the cheapest in the world.

Governments in Tunisia and Algeria maintain that they are not supplying fuel to Libya , and that they are implementing U.N. sanctions. But they admit that it’s a challenge to control smuggling along Libya’s long porous borders with Algeria and Tunisia, borders which abut western Libyan territory that is largely under Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s control.