$67 oil has all the majors converging here

"You've got to incentivize people to do exploration and development, especially when prices are low," said Ali Moshiri, the top Chevron official in Latin America said. "If Argentina carries on with these incentives, it will encourage others to come to the country."

Meanwhile, a corporate makeover is also underway. Argentina's new President Mauricio Macri pushed YPF's CEO Miguel Galuccio out the door last week. The FT reported that Argentina's new energy minister, Juan José Aranguren, was not fond of Galuccio. In particular, he was critical of ballooning debt levels that took place under Galuccio's management. Galuccio will be succeeded by a former JP Morgan executive.

But Galuccio is also credited with turning YPF's fortunes around. Since taking the helm in 2012 after the government of former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner nationalized YPF, he improved the company's operations and achieved production increases.

President Macri and the new YPF CEO hope to keep the momentum going. Whether or not having the Argentinian public subsidize oil prices is smart policy, it offers the shale industry a rare bright spot for the energy industry.