Commitments and Contingencies - Saudi Aramco (Details) - Saudi Aramco $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) item
Contribution \| $	$ 20.0
Number of drilling units and related assets contributed	5
Number of additional drilling units and related assets contributed	5
Number of drilling units to backstop entity share to purchase in the event of insufficient cash	25

Represents the number of drilling units to backstop entity share to purchase in the event of insufficient funds.

No definition available.

Name:	nbr_NumberOfDrillingUnitsToBackstopEntityShareToPurchaseInEventOfInsufficientCash
Namespace Prefix:	nbr_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration