Debt and Interest Expense - Subsequent Events (Details) (Revolving Credit Facility [Member], USD $)	12 Months Ended								0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013 Minimum [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Western Gas Partners, LP [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Western Gas Partners, LP [Member] Minimum [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Western Gas Partners, LP [Member] Maximum [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Western Gas Partners, LP [Member]	Feb. 28, 2014 Subsequent Event [Member] Western Gas Partners, LP [Member]	Feb. 28, 2014 Subsequent Event [Member] Western Gas Partners, LP [Member] Minimum [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]	Feb. 28, 2014 Subsequent Event [Member] Western Gas Partners, LP [Member] Maximum [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Line of credit, maximum capacity	$ 5,000,000,000			$ 800,000,000				$ 1,200,000,000
Line of credit, expiration date	Sep. 02, 2015			Mar. 24, 2016			Feb. 26, 2019
Line of credit, expandable maximum capacity								$ 1,500,000,000
Margin added to LIBOR		1.25%	2.50%		1.30%	1.90%			0.975%	1.45%