Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail)				1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jun. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 02, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2015 $ / bbl	Nov. 30, 2015 USD ($)	May 31, 2014 $ / MMBTU $ / bbl	Nov. 30, 2011 MMBTU	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 27, 2016	Feb. 23, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2014 USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Interest sold in oil and gas properties							$ 52,711,000	$ 580,000	$ 0
Transition Service Agreements [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Management fee per month							$ 800,000
Classic Pipeline Gas Gathering Agreement [Member] | Classic Operating And Classic Pipeline [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Maximum dedication of natural gas produced | MMBTU						50,000
Pipeline transportation agreement expiration year						2020
Pipeline transportation agreement extension						1 year
Amended gas gathering agreement terms disclosure							Classic Operating agreed to pay a fee of (i) $0.30 per MMBtu, subject to an annual 3.5% inflationary escalation, based on volumes of natural gas delivered and processed and (ii) $0.07 per MMBtu per stage of compression plus its allocated share of compressor fuel
Base gas gathering fee per MMBtu | $ / MMBTU					0.30
Base stage of compression fee per MMBtu | $ / MMBTU					0.07
Annual inflationary escalation, rate					3.50%
Water Disposal Agreement [Member] | Classic Operating And Classic Pipeline [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Pipeline water disposal agreement extension					1 year
Water disposal agreement period					3 years
Water disposal fee per barrel | $ / bbl			0.40		1.10
Gain recognized as contribution				$ 2,100,000
Salt water disposal fee								3,200,000	$ 1,800,000
Multi-Shot, LLC [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Drilling and completion expenses							$ 100,000	$ 300,000
MEMP GP [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Common Control Acquisition Purchase Price	$ 800,000
Gain (loss) on acquisition	$ 0
Date of acquisition common control							Jun. 01, 2016
Partnership ownership percentage	0.10%
Related party transaction, description of transaction							In connection with the closing of the transaction, our partnership agreement was amended and restated to, among other things, (i) convert MEMP GP’s 0.1% general partnership interest into a non-economic general partner interest, (ii) cancel the IDRs of the Partnership, and (iii) provide that the limited partners of the Partnership will elect the members of MEMP GP’s board of directors beginning with our next annual meeting. On June 1, 2016, the Partnership also acquired the remaining 50% of the IDRs of the Partnership owned by an NGP affiliate.
Natural Gas Partners [Member] | Incentive Distribution Rights (“IDRs”) [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Date of acquisition common control							Jun. 01, 2016
Agreed ownership interest percentage to acquire	50.00%									50.00%
Affiliated Entity [Member] | February 2015 Acquisition [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Common Control Acquisition Purchase Price											$ 78,400,000
Double A Acquisition [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Common Control Acquisition Purchase Price													$ 33,300,000
Effective date of acquisition common control							Apr. 01, 2014
Wattenberg Acquisition [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Date of acquisition common control							Oct. 01, 2014
Common Control Acquisition Purchase Price												$ 15,000,000
Stanolind Oil and Gas LLC [Member] | 2015 Divestiture [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Net value of oil and gas properties		$ 200,000
Proceeds in excess of net book value of properties sold		700,000
Interest sold in oil and gas properties		$ 900,000
Memorial Resource [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount receivable under management agreement							$ 400,000