Acquisition (Selected Financial Information) (Details) - Alkali Business - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018
SelectedFinancialInformation [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 211,381	$ 419,930
Net Income Attributable to Genesis Energy, L.P.	$ 30,404	$ 62,144

[Line Items] for Selected Financial Information [Table Text Block]

No definition available.

Name:	gel_SelectedFinancialInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	gel_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the amount of earnings or loss of the acquiree since the acquisition date included in the consolidated income statement for the reporting period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (h)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=79982066&loc=d3e1392-128463

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationProFormaInformationEarningsOrLossOfAcquireeSinceAcquisitionDateActual
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the amount of revenue of the acquiree since the acquisition date included in the consolidated income statement for the reporting period.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationProFormaInformationRevenueOfAcquireeSinceAcquisitionDateActual
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=gel_AlkaliBusinessMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: