The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed a USD 50mn loan to the Bulgarian and Egyptian subsidiaries of the UK-based oil and gas producer Melrose Resources in support of ongoing projects for natural gas exploration and extraction. The loan is approved in partnership with commercial banks that have provided additional USD 240mn to Melrose . The line press of IFC reads that the projects will help for meeting local energy demand and bolster employment. The financing for the Bulgarian subsidiaries -- Petreco S.a.r.l and Petreco Bulgaria – is directed to the Melrose ’s offshore concessions in the western Black Sea . The companies are extracting gas in the Galata field near Varna and have four adjacent offshore exploration concessions. The Galata gas field development is the first upstream oil and gas development undertaken by the private sector in Bulgaria . IFC has already approved two other financial transfers to the business of Melrose in Bulgaria in 2002 and 2004. IFC is the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group and the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprises in developing countries.