(Bloomberg) -- Petroleos del Peru SA’s bonds fell on Wednesday after a three-notch credit rating downgrade prompted government officials to pledge support for the state oil company.  

Notes due in 2047 slid 2.3 cents to 61.6 cents on the dollar, the lowest in more than two weeks, according to indicative pricing data collected by Bloomberg. The company’s 2032 bonds fell 2.5 cents to 73.6 cents on the dollar. 

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded Petroperu, as the company is known, further into junk, citing a liquidity constraints. A recent outage at the Talara refinery compounded its cash flow problems. The company already faces a liquidity crisis after being saddled with debt to build the $6 billion refinery.

Energy and Mines Minister Romulo Mucho told reporters after the downgrade that financial support will be “necessary,” without additional details. Finance Minister Jose Arista said in a letter addressed to Fitch that support could come shortly and includes “capital injections, credit extensions and guarantees and/or hybrid solutions.” 

“Despite the finance minister’s reaffirmation of the government’s support to PETRPE, there is still no visibility on the amount and the timing in which this new support will be received,” BancTrust strategists led by Ramiro Blazquez wrote in a note Wednesday. 

Read More: Peru’s Govt Will Not Privatize Oil Company Petroperu

Petroperu’s board has said it needs an additional $2.2 billion in state support to stay afloat, on top of a $1.3 billion package received earlier this year. 

--With assistance from Maria Elena Vizcaino.

(Recasts with bond move, analyst comments.)

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