Document and Entity Information (USD $)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Jul. 27, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD
Entity Central Index Key	0001163739
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float (actual number)			$ 3,397,152,492
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (actual number)		287,486,076