Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011	Nov. 10, 2011 Managing General Partner	Nov. 10, 2011 Limited Partner
Entity Registrant Name	Reef Global Energy VII, L.P.
Entity Central Index Key	0001344530
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		48.620	923.783
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3

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