Consolidated Statements of Equity and Partners' Capital (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
WES equity transactions, net	[1]	$ (183)	$ 0	$ 57,353
Combined change in Partners' Capital from WES equity transactions, net and net income (loss) attributable to Western Gas Equity Partners, LP		383,200	341,600	145,800
Common Units [Member]
WES equity transactions, net	[1]	$ 6,615	$ (4,180)	$ (19,687)

[1] Includes the impact of WES’s (as defined in Note 1) equity offerings as described in Note 4. The $6.6 million, $(4.2) million and $(19.7) million increase (decrease) to partners’ capital, together with net income (loss) attributable to Western Gas Equity Partners, LP, totaled $383.2 million, $341.6 million and $145.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.