Long-Term Debt Additional Information (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jul. 02, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	May 15, 2016 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016	Nov. 15, 2010 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016	Sep. 30, 2013 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 Rate	Sep. 30, 2013 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 Rate	Oct. 15, 2022 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022	Oct. 03, 2012 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022	Sep. 30, 2013 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022 Rate	May 21, 2018 Revolving Credit Facility	Oct. 05, 2010 Revolving Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility	Apr. 30, 2017 PDCM Credit Facility	Apr. 30, 2010 PDCM Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2013 PDCM Credit Facility Rate	May 30, 2013 PDCM Credit Facility	Dec. 31, 2012 PDCM Credit Facility Rate	Oct. 31, 2017 PDCM Second Lien Term Loan	Sep. 30, 2013 PDCM Second Lien Term Loan Rate	Sep. 30, 2013 RNG Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2013 First Payment 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016	Sep. 30, 2013 First Payment 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022	Dec. 31, 2013 Second Payment 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016	Dec. 31, 2013 Second Payment 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022	Sep. 30, 2013 Alternate Base Rate PDCM Second Lien Term Loan	Sep. 30, 2013 LIBOR PDCM Second Lien Term Loan
Debt Instrument
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage						3.25%	3.25%			7.75%
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Jul. 02, 2013				Nov. 15, 2010				Oct. 03, 2012
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date				May 15, 2016				Oct. 15, 2022											Oct. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument, Frequency of Periodic Payment																						May 15	April 15	November 15	October 15
3.25% Convertible Debt, Liability Component ($)					$ 94,300,000
Effective Interest Rate on Convertible Debt							7.40%
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Terms of Conversion Feature							Upon conversion, the Convertible Notes may be settled, at our election, in shares of our common stock, cash or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock. We have initially elected a net-settlement method to satisfy our conversion obligation, which allows us to settle the principal amount of the Convertible Notes in cash and to settle the excess conversion value in shares, as well as cash in lieu of fractional shares.
Convertible Note Stock Price Trigger						$ 55.12
Convertible Note Threshold Percentage of Stock Price Trigger						130.00%
PDC Energy Stock Price						$ 59.54	$ 59.54
Convertible Note, If-converted Value in Excess of Principal						46,488,196.39000
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date												Nov. 05, 2010			Apr. 30, 2010
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity ($)													1,000,000,000			400,000,000				75,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Current Borrowing Capacity ($)													450,000,000				80,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date											May 21, 2018			Apr. 30, 2017
Debt Instrument, Covenant Description													The revolving credit facility contains covenants customary for agreements of this type, with the most restrictive being certain financial tests and requirements to maintain certain financial ratios on a quarterly basis. The financial tests and ratios, as defined per the revolving credit facility, include requirements to maintain a minimum current ratio of 1.00 to 1.00 and to not exceed a maximum leverage ratio of 4.25 to 1.00.			The credit facility contains covenants customary for agreements of this type, with the most restrictive being certain financial tests and financial ratios that must be met on a quarterly basis. The financial tests and ratios, as defined by the credit facility, include requirements to maintain a minimum current ratio of 1.0 to 1.0, not to exceed a debt to EBITDAX ratio of 4.25 to 1.0 (declining to 4.0 to 1.0 on July 1, 2014) and to maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio of 2.5 to 1.0				The Term Loan Agreement contains financial covenants that must be met on a quarterly basis, including requirements to maintain a minimum current ratio of 1.0 to 1.0, not to exceed a debt to EBITDAX ratio of 4.5 to 1.0, to maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio of 2.25 to 1.0 and not to exceed a present value of future net revenues to total debt ratio of 1.50 to 1.00.
PDC Irrevocable Standby Letter of Credit ($)													18,500,000								11,800,000
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity ($)													431,500,000
Weighted Average Interest Rate																3.60%		3.50%		8.50%
Proportionate Share of PDCM Credit Facility ($)																	40,000,000
PDCM second lien term loan		$ 15,000,000	$ 0																	$ 30,000,000
Margin on Variable Interest Rate																										7.00%	6.00%