Debt (Details 3) (USD $)	12 Months Ended								0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2011 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2010 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 6.15% senior notes due February 2018	Dec. 31, 2011 6.15% senior notes due February 2018	Jul. 22, 2008 6.15% senior notes due February 2018 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 6.15% senior notes due February 2018 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Feb. 20, 2008 6.15% senior notes due February 2018 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 9.25% senior notes due January 2019	Dec. 31, 2011 9.25% senior notes due January 2019	Dec. 31, 2012 9.25% senior notes due January 2019 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Jan. 12, 2009 9.25% senior notes due January 2019 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 5.00% senior notes due September 2020	Dec. 31, 2011 5.00% senior notes due September 2020	Dec. 31, 2012 5.00% senior notes due September 2020 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2010 5.00% senior notes due September 2020 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Sep. 14, 2010 5.00% senior notes due September 2020 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 4.625% senior notes due September 2021	Dec. 31, 2011 4.625% senior notes due September 2021	Aug. 23, 2011 4.625% senior notes due September 2021 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 4.625% senior notes due September 2021 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 5.375% senior notes due August 2012	Dec. 31, 2011 5.375% senior notes due August 2012	Aug. 31, 2012 5.375% senior notes due August 2012 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 5.375% senior notes due August 2012 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Aug. 01, 2012 5.375% senior notes due August 2012 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 0.94% Senior Exchangeable Notes Due May 2011	Dec. 31, 2011 0.94% Senior Exchangeable Notes Due May 2011 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2010 0.94% Senior Exchangeable Notes Due May 2011 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 0.94% Senior Exchangeable Notes Due May 2011 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	May 16, 2011 0.94% Senior Exchangeable Notes Due May 2011 Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facilities	Nov. 29, 2012 Revolving Credit Facilities	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Facilities	Dec. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facilities Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Facilities Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 U.S. dollar-denominated borrowings One, two, three or six months LIBOR Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 U.S. dollar-denominated borrowings Federal funds rate Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 U.S. dollar-denominated borrowings Corporate base rate Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 U.S. dollar-denominated borrowings One month Libor Nabors Delaware (Issuer/Guarantor)	Dec. 31, 2012 Canadian dollar-denominated borrowings One, two, three or six months LIBOR Nabors Canada	Dec. 31, 2012 Canadian dollar-denominated borrowings Federal funds rate Nabors Canada	Dec. 31, 2012 Canadian dollar-denominated borrowings Canadian base rate Nabors Canada	Dec. 31, 2012 Canadian dollar-denominated borrowings One month Libor Nabors Canada
Debt Instrument
Interest rate on senior note due (as a percent)							6.15%			6.15%		9.25%		9.25%		5.00%		5.00%			4.625%			4.625%	5.375%			5.375%		0.94%			0.94%
Current portion of long-term debt	$ 364,000	$ 275,326,000			$ 274,604,000																									$ 1,400,000,000
Aggregate amount of senior notes									975,000,000		575,000,000				1,125,000,000					700,000,000							275,000,000
Amount paid on early repayment of debt																														1,200,000,000
Issuance of notes									400,000,000														700,000,000
Total notional amount of treasury rate lock derivative to hedge the risk of changes in interest payments																			500,000,000
Cash paid upon settlement of cash flow hedge due to change in fair value of derivatives																			5,700,000
Pre-tax gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		(58,000)	(7,042,000)																												(100,000)	(7,000,000)
Aggregate principal amount of private placement							968,708,000	967,490,000				1,125,000,000	1,125,000,000			697,648,000	697,343,000				697,907,000	697,667,000				274,604,000
Aggregate principal amount of senior notes																																		1,400,000,000
Redemption price of debt instrument (as a percent)										100.00%				100.00%
Redemption price of principal amount of debt instrument including accrued and unpaid interest (as a percent)										101.00%				101.00%				101.00%						101.00%
Payment of debt	276,258,000	1,404,281,000	398,514,000	224,997,000	1,404,246,000	274,095,000																					282,400,000
Payment of debt accrued interest																													7,400,000
Payment of debt, portion financed through line of credit borrowings																											270,000,000
Proceeds from revolving credit facilities used to redeem notes																1,200,000,000
Increase in aggregate principal amount of commitments																																				1,950,000,000
Unsecured revolving credit facility																																				1,500,000,000
Unsecured revolving credit facility borrowing capacity																																			610,000,000
Weighted average interest rate on revolving credit facilities (as a percent)																																			1.51%
Variable rate basis																																								one, two, three or six months LIBOR	Federal Funds Rate	Corporate base rate	One month Libor	one, two, three or six months LIBOR	Federal Funds Rate	Canadian base rate	One month Libor
Debt instrument basis spread on variable																																									0.50%		1.05%		1.00%		1.00%
Revolving credit facilities																																			$ 890,000,000		$ 860,000,000	$ 890,000,000	$ 860,000,000