Acquisitions - 2017 Acquisitions (Details) - USD ($)				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Oct. 03, 2018	Dec. 15, 2017	Sep. 05, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses													$ 25,000,000	$ 51,664,000	$ 22,278,000
Goodwill				$ 173,226,000	$ 183,914,000				$ 173,226,000				183,914,000	173,226,000	166,917,000
Liabilities:
Net income (loss)					$ (183,418,000)	$ (114,577,000)	$ (198,752,000)	$ (144,201,000)	$ (116,344,000)	$ (148,532,000)	$ (132,951,000)	$ (148,984,000)	$ (640,948,000)	(546,811,000)	(1,029,742,000)
Stavanger Based Robotic Drilling Systems AS
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses			$ 50,700,000
Recorded intangible assets			53,300,000
Goodwill			5,700,000
Other liabilities			7,300,000
Liabilities:
Other long-term liabilities			7,300,000
Stavanger Based Robotic Drilling Systems AS | Developed Technology
Acquisitions
Recorded intangible assets			$ 20,800,000
Estimated Useful Life			10 years
Stavanger Based Robotic Drilling Systems AS | In Process Research and Development
Acquisitions
Recorded intangible assets			$ 32,500,000
PetroMar Technologies
Acquisitions
Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses	$ 25,000,000
Recorded intangible assets	36,200,000
Goodwill	11,400,000
Other liabilities	22,600,000
Liabilities:
Other long-term liabilities	22,600,000
PetroMar Technologies | Developed Technology
Acquisitions
Recorded intangible assets	13,700,000
PetroMar Technologies | Trade Names
Acquisitions
Recorded intangible assets	800,000
PetroMar Technologies | In Process Research and Development
Acquisitions
Recorded intangible assets	$ 21,700,000
Tesco Corporation
Acquisitions
Fair value of common shares issued		$ 179,000,000
Other liabilities		2,436,000
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		59,804,000
Accounts receivable		40,465,000
Inventory		44,525,000
Other current assets		13,889,000
Property, plant and equipment, net		68,591,000
Other long-term assets		3,647,000
Total assets		230,921,000
Liabilities:
Accounts payable		14,111,000
Accrued liabilities		35,383,000
Other long-term liabilities		2,436,000
Total liabilities		51,930,000
Net assets acquired		$ 178,991,000
Operating revenues				7,700,000										2,717,933,000	2,362,576,000
Net income (loss)				100,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information
Operating revenues				$ 7,700,000										2,717,933,000	2,362,576,000
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax														$ (554,235,000)	$ (1,129,172,000)
Income (loss) from continuing operations per share - basic														$ (1.75)	$ (3.59)
Income (loss) from continuing operations per share - diluted														$ (1.75)	$ (3.59)
Common Shares | Tesco Corporation
Acquisitions
Number of shares of Nabors stock exchanged per share of acquiree stock		0.68
Number of common shares to be issued		32,100,000