Variable Interest Entity Arrangements (Schedule of Assets and Liabilities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018		Jan. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 6,452			$ 701		$ 893	$ 835
Accounts receivable	119,397			111,512
Prepaid expenses and other	11,356			6,172
Total current assets	175,113			119,672
Property and Equipment:
Gas gathering and processing equipment	767,388			726,236
Transportation equipment	29,524			29,631
Property, plant and equipment, gross, total	8,615,042			8,534,192
Less accumulated depreciation, depletion, amortization, and impairment	6,182,726			6,151,450
Net property and equipment	2,432,316			2,382,742
Other assets	27,816		$ 27,028	16,230
Total assets	2,698,053	[1]		2,581,452	[1]	$ 2,479,303
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	149,945			112,648
Accrued liabilities	49,664			48,523
Current portion of other long-term liabilities	14,250		15,750	13,002
Total current liabilities	213,859			181,936
Long-term debt less debt issuance costs	644,475			820,276
Other long-term liabilities	101,234		$ 109,940	$ 100,203
VIE
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	5,841
Accounts receivable	33,207
Prepaid expenses and other	2,693
Total current assets	41,741
Property and Equipment:
Gas gathering and processing equipment	767,388
Transportation equipment	3,086
Property, plant and equipment, gross, total	770,474
Less accumulated depreciation, depletion, amortization, and impairment	364,740
Net property and equipment	405,734
Other assets	15,907
Total assets	463,382
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	32,214
Accrued liabilities	3,688
Current portion of other long-term liabilities	6,875
Total current liabilities	42,777
Long-term debt less debt issuance costs	0
Other long-term liabilities	14,687
Total liabilities	$ 57,464

[1] Unit Corporation's consolidated total assets as of December 31, 2018 include current and long-term assets of its variable interest entity (VIE) (Superior) of $41.7 million and $421.6 million, respectively, which can only be used to settle obligations of the VIE. Unit Corporation's consolidated total liabilities as of December 31, 2018 include current and long-term liabilities of the VIE of $42.8 million and $14.7 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIE have no recourse to Unit Corporation. See Note 16 – Variable Interest Entity Arrangements.