Earnings Per Share (Schedule of Earnings Per Share) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings of basic earnings attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ 18,899	$ 3,705	$ 32,552	$ 28,693
Income of effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock, and stock appreciation rights (SARs)	0	0	0	0
Earnings of diluted income attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ 18,899	$ 3,705	$ 32,552	$ 28,693
Weighted shares of basic earnings attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	52,068	51,386	51,951	51,019
Weighted shares of effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock, and stock appreciation rights (SARs)	1,072	586	808	550
Weighted shares of diluted earnings attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	53,140	51,972	52,759	51,569
Per-Share amount of basic earnings attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ 0.36	$ 0.07	$ 0.63	$ 0.56
Per-Share amount of effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock, and stock appreciation rights (SARs)	0.00	0.00	(0.01)	0.00
Per-Share amount of diluted earnings attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ 0.36	$ 0.07	$ 0.62	$ 0.56