The directors of several oil companies in the Gulf of Sidra region of eastern Libya announced they were splitting from embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi and had "pledged loyalty to the people," Zawya Dow Jones reported Feb. 23. The Gulf of Sidra is critical to Libya's energy exports . The ports of As Sidra, Marsa el Brega, Ras Lanuf, Tobruk and Zuetina handle approximately 77 percent of Libya's oil exports. Allegiances in the Gulf of Sidra and the economic value they represent, therefore, are key to the survival of Gadhafi's regime. According to the report, the defecting directors came from the Arabian Gulf Oil Co. (Agoco) and the Sirte Oil Co. (SOC), both regional subsidiaries of Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp.