The owner of any working interest or royalty interest in a tract which is the subject of a unit agreement who did not consent to the proposed unit agreement shall, 60 days following the date upon which the supervisor issues his order under the provisions of Section 3645, be entitled to offer his interest for sale pursuant to this section. All working interest owners who consented to the proposed unit agreement shall be entitled to participate in purchasing such interest in proportion to their respective shares of unit production. Unless one or more working interest owners purchase such interest, the order of the supervisor shall not become effective.

If a disagreement arises with respect to the price at which such an interest shall be purchased, then either party may request the supervisor to authorize the creation of an arbitration committee consisting of three members, one member appointed by the seller, one member appointed by the purchaser or purchasers and a third member selected by the other two members, to make an independent appraisal of the value of the interest as of the date the supervisor issued his order under Section 3645. Such committee shall consider all relevant data and information submitted by interested parties and may seek and consider such other information as it deems relevant. The arbitration committee shall determine the fair market value of the interest as of the date the supervisor issued his order under Section 3645 and fix the price at which the sale shall be consummated, and its determination shall be binding on the parties; except that, within 30 days after the determination of the arbitration committee has been mailed to the parties concerned, the seller or the purchaser or any one or more of the purchasers may have such price judicially determined by filing suit for a declaratory judgment as to the fair market value in the superior court for the county in which the tract involved, or the greater portion of it, lies. The compensation and expenses of the arbitration committee shall be subject to approval in amount by the supervisor and, if the unit becomes effective, shall be paid by the working interest owners who elected to participate in purchasing such interest in the proportion they share unit expenses. If the unit does not become effective within the time provided for in the order of the supervisor issued under Section 3645, the working interest owners who have consented to the unit agreement and have requested the independent appraisal shall pay such compensation and expenses in proportion to what would have been their share of unit expenses.

(Amended by Stats. 1975, Ch. 644.)