OREANDA-NEWS. September 18, 2014. YPF is seeking Chinese cash to drill the Vaca Muerta shale prospect, as senior officials tour Asia looking for big-money investors.

“They [YPF] want two to three deals from their trip to the Far East, and I’m guessing that each one will be worth around USD500 million,” said the source, who said he was close to YPF, but did not wish to be named.

YPF Chief Executive Miguel Galuccio met Sinopec Chairman Fu Chengyu and Wang Zhigang, senior vice president of Sinopec’s main Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, in Beijing on Monday. Interfax understands a second meeting with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) officials is scheduled.

“YPF is always looking for new partners,” Santiago Wesenack, a Buenos Aires-based analyst at Raymond James Argentina, told Interfax on Monday. “Bear in mind that YPF and Sinopec are already partners in Mendoza,” he added.

But Sinopec may not be receptive to any new offers, given it is focused on selling a third of its fuel retail arm – which may fetch up to USD 16 billion. A wide-ranging corruption probe that has rocked China’s energy industry over the past year may also persuade the Chinese giant to stay on the sidelines for now.

“I don’t think Sinopec will be very committed to an overseas purchase at this point, given the domestic restructuring is about easing high costs,” Gordon Kwan, head of regional oil and gas at Nomura in Hong Kong, told Interfax on Tuesday. “It’s not politically opportune to be making big overseas deals these days because of the corruption investigation into the energy industry. Every deal will be heavily scrutinised.”

Galuccio may also come away from his meeting with CNOOC empty-handed. “I seriously doubt that CNOOC would be committed to buying more assets, because they are under pressure to restrain capital expenditure growth. Argentina is certainly not a favourable location right now to splash more cash on,” said Kwan.