Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue from services	$ 2,171	$ 23,274	$ 163,370	$ 205,866
Type of Revenue [Extensible List]	us-gaap:ServiceMember	us-gaap:ServiceMember	us-gaap:ServiceMember	us-gaap:ServiceMember
Cost of services	$ 7,873	$ 17,075	$ 121,298	$ 162,122
Type of Cost, Good or Service [Extensible List]	us-gaap:ServiceMember	us-gaap:ServiceMember	us-gaap:ServiceMember	us-gaap:ServiceMember
Depreciation and amortization	$ 3,096	$ 2,930	$ 12,038	$ 9,405
Gross (loss) profit	(8,798)	3,269	30,034	34,339
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expenses	5,917	13,698	27,329	33,806
Misappropriation of funds		55		328
Total operating expenses	5,917	13,753	27,329	34,134
Operating (loss) income	(14,715)	(10,484)	2,705	205
Other (expense) income, net:
Interest expense, net	(2,635)	(3,714)	(9,950)	(10,843)
Foreign exchange gain (loss), net	109	(1,351)	(4,665)	(851)
Other income, net	242	1,875	1,344	2,788
Reorganization expenses	(12,940)		(12,940)
Total other expense, net	(15,224)	(3,190)	(26,211)	(8,906)
Loss before income taxes	(29,939)	(13,674)	(23,506)	(8,701)
Income taxes	76	(689)	847	5,830
Net loss	(30,015)	(12,985)	(24,353)	(14,531)
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interest			2,607	2,573
Net loss attributable to SAExploration	$ (30,015)	$ (12,985)	$ (26,960)	$ (17,104)
Loss per common share (basic and diluted)	$ (3.01)	$ (1.64)	$ (2.55)	$ (2.19)
Weighted average common shares outstanding (basic and diluted)	9,969	7,930	10,582	7,818