Investments by oil and gas companies in Norway are expected to decline by 4.2% next year to 178.4 billion Norwegian crowns ($20.5 billion) from an estimated 186.2 billion in 2020, an industry group said Dec. 16.

Fears that investments could be halved between 2019 and 2022 due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic have dissipated however after a recovery in oil prices and parliament’s adoption of tax incentives, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said.

“Our analysis now shows that much of the uncertainty we saw during spring is gone,” NOG chief Anniken Hauglie said in a statement.

The association predicted annual oil investments of between 160 billion and 170 billion crowns in the years from 2022-2024 and said more than 90 oil and gas discoveries had yet to be turned into producing assets.

A year ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic and also before the introduction of tax incentives, the NOG had predicted that 2021 oil and gas investments would amount to 170.7 billion crowns.

Norway produces about 4 million barrels of oil equivalents of crude and natural gas per day.