Libyan Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem, a veteran of Muammar Gaddafi's regime, has left his country and is in neighbouring Tunisia, a Tunisian government source told AFP today.

Ghanem, also the chairman of Libya's powerful national oil company, crossed the border by car on Saturday and is staying in a hotel in the southern tourist island of Djerba, the official said on condition of anonymity.

"Shukri Ghanem has left Libya. He entered Tunisia by car on May 14 across the Ras Jedir border post," the source said.

"Shukri Ghanem is currently in a hotel at Djerba and he has not tried to contact the Tunisian authorities."

If it is confirmed the minister has left his post, he would be among the most senior officials to abandon Kadhafi's government amid an uprising that erupted in mid-February.

Former foreign minister Mussa Kussa defected to Britain in March, leaving Libya via Tunisia.

The US Treasury Department in April froze the assets of five senior Kadhafi aides, including Ghanem, in a bid to fracture the veteran ruler's inner circle.

Libya is a key crude-exporting nation but its output has been slashed since the revolt began.

According to the International Energy Agency, Libya's exports averaged 1.49 million bpd before the uprising, with 85 percent of that going to Europe.

The European Union last month added to its Libya sanctions list 26 energy firms accused of financing Kadhafi's regime, a move that Germany said amounted to a de facto oil and gas embargo.