ISTANBUL, October 30. /TASS/. It is necessary to return investments to the oil and gas sector, but not all countries understand this now, Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson said at the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum.

"We need to return investment to the oil and gas sector," he said, adding that even the International Energy Agency (IEA) has acknowledged that investment is needed today to replace the resource base.

"Take France, for example. I don't think they understand this today," the chief executive noted.

He mentioned Novatek's engineering partner, the French company Technic Energies, as an example. "There aren't many companies in the world that can both design and build an LNG plant. They apply to a state bank for financing and support for their new project, but they're told: 'We can't as there's a law in place that says we don't finance hydrocarbon projects, including LNG'," Mikhelson said.