According to CoinMeta, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry stated upon his arrival in Venezuela on Tuesday that agreements to be signed in Caracas on Wednesday by American and other national oil companies will lead to a more than doubling of Venezuela's crude oil production in the coming years. Venezuela's crude oil production once reached over 3 million barrels per day at the end of the 1990s, but it has significantly declined due to insufficient investment, poor management, and U.S. sanctions. In recent months, the country's crude oil production has been around 1.1 to 1.2 million barrels per day. Perry said that the investments involved in these agreements will "significantly increase" the available oil production and put downward pressure on oil prices. He also pointed out that the biggest bottleneck currently facing gasoline and diesel prices is refining capacity.