Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Nov. 09, 2012 Managing general partner	Nov. 09, 2012 Limited partners
Entity Registrant Name	Reef Global Energy VII, L.P.
Entity Central Index Key	0001344530
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
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	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3