NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION Additional Information (Details)	Dec. 31, 2017 Wells
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Oil and gas producing wells, gross	2,800

The total number of producing oil and natural gas wells in which the entity owns an working interest.

No definition available.

Name:	pdce_OilAndGasProducingWellsGross
Namespace Prefix:	pdce_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant