OSLO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Norway's Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said Thursday it expects the country's investments in the oil industry to surpass 140 billion Norwegian kroner (16.56 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019.

This is a 13 percent increase over the 2018 figure, according to NPD, which is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the regulation of petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf.

"Many ongoing projects, both new field developments and on operating fields, contribute to a relatively stable activity level," the NPD wrote in its report "The Shelf in 2018".

However, a decline in investments is expected towards 2022, alongside a moderate reduction in exploration costs in the coming years, the NPD said.

New, major discoveries in new fields will be required to maintain the investment level throughout the 2020 decade, it said.

"In the time ahead, there will be more available capacity in pipelines and other infrastructure for gas. This means that it is more attractive to explore for gas, and it is important that the industry exploits this opportunity," NPD Director General Bente Nyland was quoted in the report as saying.