Document and Entity Information Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Feb. 10, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	unt
Entity Registrant Name	UNIT CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000798949
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		51,650,140
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Public Float			$ 495,132,341
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No