LONG-TERM DEBT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	May 15, 2016 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Nov. 15, 2015 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Nov. 15, 2010 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member] Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Oct. 15, 2022 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Oct. 03, 2012 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022 [Member] Rate	May 21, 2018 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	May 21, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Oct. 05, 2010 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 RNG Credit Facility [Member]	Apr. 30, 2017 PDCM Credit Facility [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 PDCM Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 PDCM Credit Facility [Member] Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 PDCM Credit Facility [Member] Rate	Oct. 31, 2017 PDCM Second Lien Term Loan [Member]	Jul. 02, 2013 PDCM Second Lien Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 PDCM Second Lien Term Loan [Member] Rate	Dec. 31, 2013 First Payment [Member] 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 First Payment [Member] 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Second Payment [Member] 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Second Payment [Member] 7.75% Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 PDCM Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 PDCM Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Rate	Dec. 31, 2013 LIBOR [Member] PDCM Second Lien Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Alternate Base Rate [Member] PDCM Second Lien Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date										Nov. 15, 2010					Oct. 03, 2012												Jul. 02, 2013
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date								May 15, 2016						Oct. 15, 2022												Oct. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage											3.25%					7.75%
Debt Instrument, Frequency of Periodic Payment																													May 15	April 15	November 15	October 15
Debt Instrument, Call Date, Earliest									Nov. 15, 2015						Oct. 15, 2015
Convertible Senior Note, Shares Issued Upon Conversion											23.5849
Convertible Note Principal Amount										$ 1,000
3.25% Convertible Note, Conversion Price										$ 42.40
3.25% Convertible Debt, Liability Component ($)										94,300,000
3.25% Convertible Debt, Equity Component ($)										20,700,000
3.25% Convertible Debt, Remaining Discount Amortization Period											2 years 4 months 28 days
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate During Period											7.40%
Convertible Debt, Interest Expense ($)											3,700,000	3,700,000	3,700,000
Convertible Debt, Amortization of Debt Discount ($)											3,700,000	3,400,000	3,200,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, If-converted Value in Excess of Principal											29,300,000
Debt Issuance Costs ($)					2,352,000	11,969,000	680,000								11,000,000
Debt Instrument, Call Date, Latest															Oct. 15, 2017
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(23,283,000)	0	0	0	0	(23,283,000)	0
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date																			Nov. 05, 2010				Apr. 30, 2010
Line of Credit Facility, Current Borrowing Capacity ($)																				450,000,000				105,000,000
Debt agreement Amendment date																		May 21, 2013
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity ($)																				1,000,000,000				400,000,000				75,000,000
Corporate Line of Credit Outstanding																																			0	49,000,000
Proportionate Share of PDCM Credit Facility ($)																								53,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date																	May 21, 2018					Apr. 30, 2017
PDCM Line of Credit Outstanding ($)																																	37,000,000	26,250,000
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount ($)																				11,700,000	11,700,000
PDCE's proportionate share of Second Lien Term Note																												15,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity																				$ 438,300,000
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate																								3.70%	3.50%			8.50%								2.30%
Credit Facility - Restrictive Covenants																				The revolving credit facility contains restrictions as to when we can directly or indirectly, retire, redeem, repurchase or prepay in cash any part of the principal of the 2022 Senior Notes or the Convertible Notes. Among other things, the restriction on redemption of the Convertible Notes requires that immediately after giving effect to any such retirement, redemption, defeasance, repurchase, settlement or prepayment, the aggregate commitment under the revolving credit facility exceed the aggregate credit exposure under such facility by at least the greater of $115 million or an amount equal to or greater than 30% of such aggregate commitment. The restriction on redemption of the 2022 Senior Notes permits redemption only with the proceeds of issuances of "Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness," which may not exceed $750 million.
Credit Facility - Covenant Description																				The revolving credit facility contains covenants customary for agreements of this type, with the most restrictive being certain financial tests on a quarterly basis. The financial tests, as defined per the revolving credit facility, include requirements to: (a) maintain a minimum current ratio of 1.00 to 1.00 and (b) 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 that must be met on a quarterly basis. The financial tests, 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 a present value of future net revenues to total debt ratio of 1.50 to 1.00.
Loans Receivable, Basis Spread on Variable Rate																																					6.00%	7.00%