Short-Term Notes Payable (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Senior Secured Credit Facility April122016 Member [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Secured Credit Facility April122016 Member [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Retained Investment in Business [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 CNX Gas Senior Secured Credit Facility April122016 Member [Member]
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Credit facility, face amount		$ 1,000,000,000	$ 2,000,000,000	$ 1,000,000,000				$ 1,000,000,000
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount					264,544,000
Letters Of Credit	750,000,000
Deferred Finance Costs, Own-share Lending Arrangement, Issuance Costs, Adjustment	2,989,000,000
Additional Capacity Available On Credit Lines At Request					500,000,000
Minimum interest coverage ratio					2.50
Interest coverage ratio					5.26
Senior secured leverage ratio, maximum					1.00
Current secured leverage ratio					2.33		2.75
Letters of credit outstanding						206,988,000		87,643,000
Borrowings and issuance of letters of credit remaining capacity					$ 1,735,456,000	$ 793,012,000		$ 912,357,000