§ 38-08-09 — Voluntary agreements for unit operation valid

An agreement for the unit or cooperative development and operation of a field or pool, in
connection with the conduct of repressuring or pressure maintenance operations, cycling or
recycling operations, including the extraction and separation of liquid hydrocarbons from natural
gas in connection therewith, or any other method of operation, including water floods, is
authorized and may be performed and may not be held or construed to violate any of the
statutes of this state relating to trusts, monopolies, or contracts and combinations in restraint of
trade, if the agreement is approved by the commission as being in the public interest, protective
of correlative rights, and reasonably necessary to increase ultimate recovery or to prevent waste
of oil or gas. Such agreements bind only the persons who execute them, and their heirs,
successors, assigns, and legal representatives.