Litigation, Contingencies and Commitments (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended											9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	May 09, 2012	May 04, 2012	Feb. 15, 2012	Jan. 31, 2012	Jul. 25, 2011	Oct. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 Pending Litigation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Equity Support Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Directors and Officers Liability Insurance [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2009 Hallwood Energy [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Hallwood Energy [Member]	May 09, 2012 Hallwood Energy [Member]	Feb. 25, 2009 Equity Support Agreement with Hall wood Energy [Member]	Jun. 09, 2008 Equity Support Agreement with Hall wood Energy [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Equity Support Agreement with Hall wood Energy [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 FEI [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Farmout Agreement between Hallwood Energy and FEI.[Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 HPI and the trustee of creditors [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Breach of the Equity Support Agreement [Member]
Litigation Contingencies and Commitments (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Amount for adversary proceeding																		$ 3,200,000
Agreed consideration																						12,500,000
Consideration Paid																					9,300,000
Outstanding Consideration																					3,200,000		3,200,000	3,200,000
Loss Contingency, damages Sought, Value																								38,000,000	20,000,000	20,000,000
Exemplary damages																										100,000,000
Damages proposed to be awarded by US District Courts	249,000		249,000	747,000	747,000																			15,485,714			3,200,000
Aggregate limit for each policy year																10,000,000
Fines or penalties for alleged failure to comply with certain environmental requirements																	100,000
Litigation reserve	2,079,000		7,500,000	2,079,000	7,500,000	9,300,000								1,800,000	3,201,000
Litigation reserve in the adversary proceeding																			2,079,000
Attorney Fees				4,000,000															4,000,000
Payments for legal settlements																			101,000	17,947,000
Aggregate limit for each policy year																10,000,000
Fines or penalties for alleged failure to comply with certain environmental requirements																	100,000
Litigation reserve	2,079,000		7,500,000	2,079,000	7,500,000	9,300,000								1,800,000	3,201,000
Litigation reserve in the adversary proceeding																			2,079,000
Attorney Fees				4,000,000															4,000,000
Payments for legal settlements																			101,000	17,947,000
Litigation Contingencies and Commitments (Textual) [Abstract]
Undisclosed equity support agreement amount not funded												3,200,000
Adversary proceeding						10,701,000
Judgment and legal charge		13,200,000
Adversary proceeding reserve	23,901,000			23,901,000
Payment to satisfy judgment, including prejudgment and postjudgment interest								17,947,000	3,774,000
Additional payment in addition to payments by other defendants and the company's insurance carrier for its directors and officers liability insurance policy	1,800,000			1,800,000
Settlement amount paid										1,800,000
Reimbursement of legal fees and associated costs						257,000	1,373,000
Capital expenditures to comply with environmental regulations				334,000		136,000
Received payment at full value from affected customers by their greige product											$ 1,643,000		$ 3,242,000