Energy ministers of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members agreed Wednesday in South Korea's southeast city of Gyeongju to strengthen joint efforts to develop new oil fields and invest in new refineries.

In a joint statement released at the end of the 7th APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting (EMM), energy ministers from the 21 members said an effective response to high and increasingly volatile oil prices required a broad range of supply and demand sides' measures.

The one-day meeting, whose theme is "Securing APEC's Energy Future: Responding to Today's Challenges for Energy Supply and Demand," is designed to counter current high oil prices and to discuss ways to reduce the region's heavy reliance on oil.

The statement attributed the instability in the global crude oil market mainly to increase in energy consumption, drop in excess production capability, lack of oil refining facilities to process crude oil and global hedge funds.

"Urgent and significant investment is essential if APEC economies are to increase supply and improve demand-side efficiency," the statement said.

The joint statement also called for members to adopt the Joint Oil Data Initiative to provide accessible, timely and accurate data, and to balance energy efficiency with conservation methods.

The representatives of the meeting also praised the agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and APEC on establishing a formal dialogue channel.

"Ministers have tasked the Energy Working Group within the APEC forum to work out details of cooperation with OPEC," the statement said.

Earlier Wednesday, South Korean Commerce, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Hee-beom, the chair of this year's EMM, reached a cooperation agreement with OPEC's acting secretary-general Shihab- Eldin Adnan on the sideline of the EMM.

According to the agreement, in future, OPEC will talk to APEC members as a group instead of discussing matters to individual members.

The 7th EMM was convened some 30 days before the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which will be held in Busan, South Korea's second largest city located 450 kilometers southeast to Seoul, on Nov. 18-19.