Rapid growth in oil and gas royalties will partially insulate Neuquén's fiscal performance from the impact of lower national government transfers and persistently high inflation. The province has strengthened its liquidity position through the accumulation of cash reserves and access to the domestic capital market, but we believe Argentina's changing macroeconomic conditions will continue to challenge Neuquén's capacity to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet escalating debt payments. We affirmed our 'CCC-' long-term issuer credit and issue-level ratings on the province of Neuquén. The negative outlook reflects risks to the province's low liquidity position, given its debt obligations and limited access to external funding. On Feb. 27, 2024, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'CCC-' global scale issuer credit and issue-level ratings
