Optimistic about the near-term future of the oil industry, Norwegian oil companies have upped their investment plans for 2017 over the past three months, according to a survey conducted by the national statistics office. The results of the survey, released on Thursday, show that the total number of oil and gas extraction and transport projects is expected to fall for the third year in a row because energy majors slashed expenditures by over 50 percent since the oil price crisis began in 2014. This year the extraction and pipeline sectors will benefit…