Acquisitions (Details)		1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended								7 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	May. 23, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2013 USD ($) item	Jan. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	May. 24, 2015 USD ($)
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses														$ 128,245,000	$ 72,760,000	$ 119,652,000
Operating revenues					$ 738,872,000	$ 847,553,000	$ 863,305,000	$ 1,414,707,000	$ 1,783,836,000	$ 1,813,762,000	$ 1,616,981,000	$ 1,589,618,000		3,864,437,000	6,804,197,000	6,152,015,000
Net income (loss)					(163,654,000)	$ (295,834,000)	$ (36,821,000)	$ 123,634,000	(891,070,000)	$ 106,048,000	$ 64,444,000	$ 49,919,000		$ (372,675,000)	(670,659,000)	139,982,000
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life														2 years
Assets:
Goodwill					166,659,000				173,928,000				$ 166,659,000	$ 166,659,000	173,928,000	$ 512,964,000
Liabilities:
Accrued liabilities					$ 22,278,000				$ 22,278,000				22,278,000	22,278,000	22,278,000
Joint Venture in Saudi Arabia
Acquisitions
Ownership percentage																	51.00%
Carrying value of equity method investment																	$ 44,700,000
Excess of fair value over carrying value of long-lived assets														2,300,000
Two T D Drilling
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses		$ 40,300,000
Additional Contingent payments		40,000,000
Recorded intangible assets		47,700,000
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Asset, Total		24,700,000
Assets:
Goodwill		$ 17,300,000
Navigate Energy Services L L C
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses				$ 37,500,000
Assets:
Goodwill				$ 15,800,000
K V S Transportation Inc
Acquisitions
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred			$ 149,000,000
Payments to Acquire Businesses Payable in Future Annual Installments			$ 66,800,000
Number of Future Annual Installments Payable to Acquire Businesses | item			3
Joint Venture in Saudi Arabia
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses	$ 106,000,000
Remaining equity interest acquired (as a percent)							49.00%										49.00%
Operating revenues													248,900,000
Net income (loss)													$ 6,000,000
Assets:
Cash																	$ 48,058,000
Accounts receivable																	153,819,000
Other current assets																	58,021,000
Property, plant and equipment, net																	89,643,000
Intangible assets																	28,784,000
Goodwill																	75,634,000
Other long-term assets																	7,709,000
Total assets																	461,668,000
Liabilities:
Accounts payable																	206,599,000
Accrued liabilities																	74,393,000
Intangible liability																	13,472,000
Deferred tax liability																	4,823,000
Other long-term liabilities																	9,400,000
Total liabilities																	$ 308,687,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information
Operating revenues														4,035,004,000	6,953,218,000
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax														$ (316,633,000)	$ (668,127,000)
Income (loss) from continuing operations per share - basic | $ / shares														$ (1.09)	$ (2.27)
Income (loss) from continuing operations per share - diluted | $ / shares														$ (1.09)	$ (2.27)