Obsidian Energy said it has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve accounting fraud charges filed earlier this year.

The settlement regards a lawsuit filed by the SEC on June 28, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The settlement is in relation to the company’s 2014 restatement of certain financial results, when it was known as Penn West Petroleum.

“Our settlement resolves this legacy Penn West issue, and we are focused on looking forward as a new company,” Obsidian Energy’s President and CEO David French said in a statement. “We appreciate the open dialogue with the SEC Staff, which led to this conclusion.”

Under the terms of the settlement, the company, without admitting or denying any of the allegations in the SEC complaint, agreed to pay a penalty of $8.5 million. In addition, the company will be enjoined from future violations of certain provisions of U.S. securities legislation. 

The lawsuit would continue against the former Penn West employees named in the SEC complaint.

 

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