According to the SEC: "The SEC's complaint alleges that Penn West Petroleum Ltd. ... fraudulently moved hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses from operating expense accounts to capital expenditure accounts. This alleged fraudulent movement caused Penn West to artificially reduce its operating costs by as much as 20 percent in certain periods, which falsely improved reported metrics for oil extraction efficiency and profitability."

According to the SEC: "This action involves violations of the antifraud, recordkeeping, internal controls, and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws arising from a multi-year accounting fraud scheme orchestrated and implemented by the Defendants."

According to a litigation release issued November 20, 2017: "A Canadian-based oil and gas company has agreed to pay $8.5 million in civil penalties to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2017 arising from an extensive, multi-year accounting fraud."

According to the SEC: "The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") having filed a Complaint and Defendant Penn West Petroleum Ltd., d/b/a Obsidian Energy Ltd. ("Defendant") having entered a general appearance; consented to the Court's jurisdiction over Defendant and the subject matter of this action; consented to entry of this Final Judgment Imposing Permanent Injunction and Civil Money Penalty ("Final Judgment"); waived findings of fact and conclusions of law; and waived any right to appeal from this Final Judgment"