Partners' Capital and Distributions (Details 4) - PAA - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015
PAA Continuous Offering Program
Partners Capital and Distributions
Units Issued (in units)		1.1
Net Proceeds		$ 58
PAA Underwritten Offering
Partners Capital and Distributions
Units Issued (in units)	21.0
Net Proceeds	$ 1,000

Total units issued during the year due to the sale of units. All partners include general, limited and preferred partners.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 505

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 272

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (b)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6373374&loc=d3e70478-108055

Name:	us-gaap_PartnersCapitalAccountUnitsSaleOfUnits
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration