Debt (Details)		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Oct. 11, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2018	Jan. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Long-term debt
Other			$ 850,000	$ 561,000
Long-term Debt			3,714,418,000	3,624,770,000
Less: current portion			850,000	561,000
Less: deferred financing costs			35,988,000	38,325,000
Long-term Debt, Excluding Current Maturities, Total			3,677,580,000	3,585,884,000
Principal amount redeemed			46,200,000
Repayment of long-term debt including accrued and unpaid interest			44,500,000
Payment of accrued and unpaid interest			900,000
Gain on debt repurchase			2,700,000
6.15% senior notes due February 2018
Long-term debt
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)					6.15%
5.00% senior notes due September 2020
Long-term debt
Senior Notes			$ 614,825,000	614,748,000
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)			5.00%
4.625% senior notes due September 2021
Long-term debt
Senior Notes			$ 637,408,000	668,347,000
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)			4.625%
5.50% senior notes due January 2023
Long-term debt
Senior Notes			$ 577,042,000	586,000,000
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)			5.50%
5.10% senior notes due September 2023
Long-term debt
Senior Notes			$ 336,714,000	342,923,000
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)			5.10%
0.75% senior exchangeable notes due January 2024
Long-term debt
Senior Notes			$ 456,077,000	450,689,000
Less: deferred financing costs		$ 9,600,000
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)			0.75%
Aggregate amount of senior notes		575,000,000	$ 575,000,000
Debt exchangeable notes		411,200,000
Equity component		163,800,000
Equity issuance costs		$ 3,900,000
Exchange rate of common shares		39.75
Principal amount of notes		$ 1,000
Exchange price per common share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 25.16
Premium over share price (as a percent)			75.00%
Share price of shares purchased (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		17.97
0.75% senior exchangeable notes due January 2024 | Maximum
Long-term debt
Exchange price per common share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 31.45
5.75% senior notes due February 2025
Long-term debt
Senior Notes			$ 791,502,000	791,502,000
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)			5.75%
Aggregate amount of senior notes						$ 800,000,000
2012 Revolving Credit Facility
Long-term debt
Revolving credit facility			$ 300,000,000	$ 170,000,000
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 666,250,000
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)			4.00%
2012 Revolving Credit Facility | Maximum
Long-term debt
Debt to capital ratio			0.60
2018 Revolving Credit Facility
Long-term debt
Revolving credit facility			$ 0
Interest rate on senior notes due (as a percent)	5.50%
Net debt increase and retain current net debt to capital ratio			$ 630,000,000
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,267,000,000
Debt to capital ratio			0.55
Assets to debt ratio			3.74
Unsecured debt maturity period	5 years
2018 Revolving Credit Facility | Maximum
Long-term debt
Debt to capital ratio	0.60
Guarantor Subsidiaries
Long-term debt
Redemption price of principal amount of debt instrument including accrued and unpaid interest (as a percent)			101.00%
Guarantor Subsidiaries | 2018 Revolving Credit Facility
Long-term debt
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,227,000,000
Guarantor Subsidiaries | 2018 Revolving Credit Facility | Minimum
Long-term debt
Assets to debt ratio	2.50
Nabors Canada | 2018 Revolving Credit Facility
Long-term debt
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 40,000,000