Discontinued Operations (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($)			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Aug. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash distributed to Murphy Oil by Murphy USA						$ 650,000,000
Provision of specified service periods				The agreement provided for the provision of specified services, generally for a period of up to 18 months, with a possible extension of six months (an aggregate of 24 months), on a full cost basis. The Transition Service Agreement expired in 2015.
Transition service period				18 months
Transition service period, additional term				6 months
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment				$ 423,911,000	$ 1,467,046,000	1,650,000
Inventories accounted for under the LIFO method					10,954,000
Decrease amount of inventory that would have been valued using the FIFO method					44,881,000
Maximum [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Transition service period				24 months
U.K. refining and marketing assets [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Impairment of assets					269,200,000	73,000,000
Effect of LIFO Inventory Liquidation on Income					209,600,000
After tax gain on sale of oil and natural gas production					$ 101,700,000
U.K. Oil and Gas Production [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
After tax gain on sale of oil and natural gas production						$ 216,147,000
U.K. Retail Marketing Operation [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment	$ 211,965,000		$ 5,500,000
Murphy USA Inc [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Percentage of common stock distributed		100.00%
Percentage of ownership in subsidiaries		100.00%
Cash distributed to Murphy Oil by Murphy USA		$ 650,000,000