Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Details 2) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 Swift Energy Company (Issuer) [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Swift Energy Company (Issuer) [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Swift Energy Operating, LLC (Guarantor) [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Swift Energy Operating, LLC (Guarantor) [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Other Subsidiaries [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Other Subsidiaries [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Subsidiaries [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Eliminations [Member]		Mar. 31, 2011 Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Consolidating Statements of Cash Flow
Cash flow from operations	$ 63,783	$ 61,815			$ 63,783	$ 61,716	$ 99				[1]
Cash flow from investing activities	(187,383)	(126,898)			(187,383)	(126,898)	5,000					(5,000)
Cash flow from financing activities	(1,307)	(1,520)			(1,307)	(1,520)	(5,000)					5,000
Net increase (decrease) in cash	(124,907)	(66,603)			(124,907)	(66,702)	99
Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Period	251,696	86,367			251,677	86,346	21	19	19
Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Period	$ 126,789	$ 19,764			$ 126,770	$ 19,644	$ 120	$ 19	$ 19

[1] (1) $.01 par value.