"[Companies] only find money to invest in production but not for the [long-term] prospect," said Viktor Orlov, the chairman of the Federation Council's committee for natural resources.
He said only 507 oil deposits with estimated reserves of 5 billion metric tons, out of 1,850 licensed deposits, were waiting to be developed.
Under Russia's energy strategy until 2020, about $18-25 investment is to be contributed to the energy sector, Orlov said.
"According to our estimates, we are $10 billion short of the target," he said.
Under the plan, oil production is to grow of 1.8-1.9% annually in the next few years and gas 1.2%.
"The development is restrained not only by shortage in investment but also by the poor reproduction of the mineral base," Orlov said.
In the past 14 years, Russia's oil base shrank by 1.3% annually against 1.5% growth in the rest of the world.
"For 14 years, oil and gas production has exceeded reproduction, or, in other words, geological prospecting only replenished 60-65% of extracted reserves," he said.
He also explained a shortfall in long-term investment in the sector by the lack of a national socioeconomic strategy, the government's or the owner's responsibility for the raw materials base, and legal guarantees for investors.
Orlov said a new bill on raw materials introduced a market mechanism for the rights to extraction under a possible pledge. The bill also covers a transition from government licensing to civil law-based relations.
"This will give companies confidence that no government official will withdraw their license without litigation, a move that will bring in more investment," Orlov said.
