Industry Segment Information (Revenue From Different Segments) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019		Dec. 31, 2018		Dec. 31, 2017
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 674,634		$ 843,281		$ 739,640
Operating costs:
Operating costs	384,728		430,896		408,872
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization	275,573		243,605		209,257
Impairments	625,716		147,884		0
Total expenses	1,286,017		822,385		618,129
General and administrative	38,246		38,707		38,087
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	3,502		(704)		(327)
Income (loss) from operations	(653,131)		(17,107)		83,751
Gain (loss) on derivatives	4,225		(3,184)		14,732
Interest expense, net	(37,012)		(33,494)		(38,334)
Other	(236)		22		21
Income (loss) before income taxes	(686,154)		(53,763)		60,170
Identifiable assets:
Oil and natural gas	847,398	[1]	1,350,830	[2]	1,127,900	[3]
Contract drilling	708,468		806,611		933,063
Gas gathering and processing	459,444		461,828		438,571
Total identifiable assets	2,015,310	[4]	2,619,269	[5]	2,499,534	[6]
Corporate land and building	54,155		55,505		56,854
Other corporate assets	20,587	[7]	23,279	[8]	25,064	[9]
Total assets	2,090,052	[10]	2,698,053	[10]	2,581,452
Capital expenditures:
Total capital expenditures	374,369		488,780		332,280
Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	325,797		423,059		357,744
Operating costs:
Operating costs	135,124		131,675		130,789
Contract drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	168,383		196,492		174,720
Operating costs:
Operating costs	115,998		131,385		122,600
Gas gathering and processing
Revenues:
Revenues	180,454		223,730		207,176
Operating costs:
Operating costs	133,606		167,836		155,483
Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	325,797	[11]	423,059		357,744
Operating costs:
Operating costs	140,026		136,870		135,532
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization	168,651		133,584		101,911
Impairments	559,867	[12]	0	[13]
Total expenses	868,544		270,454		237,443
General and administrative	0		0		0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	(199)		(139)		(228)
Income (loss) from operations	(542,548)		152,744		120,529
Gain (loss) on derivatives	0		0		0
Interest expense, net	0		0		0
Other	(481)		0		0
Income (loss) before income taxes	(543,029)		152,744		120,529
Identifiable assets:
Oil and natural gas	851,662	[1]	1,357,779	[2]	1,134,080	[3]
Contract drilling	0		0		0
Gas gathering and processing	0		0		0
Total identifiable assets	851,662	[4]	1,357,779	[5]	1,134,080	[6]
Corporate land and building	0		0		0
Other corporate assets	0	[7]	0	[8]	0	[9]
Total assets	851,662		1,357,779		1,134,080
Capital expenditures:
Total capital expenditures	268,622		367,335		270,443
Oil and Natural Gas | Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	325,797	[11]	423,059	[14]	357,744
Operating costs:
Operating costs	140,026		136,870		135,532
Oil and Natural Gas | Contract drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Oil and Natural Gas | Gas gathering and processing
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	184,192	[11]	218,982		188,172
Operating costs:
Operating costs	130,188		150,834		134,432
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization	51,552		57,508		56,370
Impairments	62,809	[12]	147,884	[13]
Total expenses	244,549		356,226		190,802
General and administrative	0		0		0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	3,872		(425)		776
Income (loss) from operations	(64,229)		(136,819)		(3,406)
Gain (loss) on derivatives	0		0		0
Interest expense, net	0		0		0
Other	(605)		0		0
Income (loss) before income taxes	(64,834)		(136,819)		(3,406)
Identifiable assets:
Oil and natural gas	0	[1]	0	[2]	0	[3]
Contract drilling	708,510		806,696		933,063
Gas gathering and processing	0		0		0
Total identifiable assets	708,510	[4]	806,696	[5]	933,063	[6]
Corporate land and building	0		0		0
Other corporate assets	0	[7]	0	[8]	0	[9]
Total assets	708,510		806,696		933,063
Capital expenditures:
Total capital expenditures	40,636		75,510		36,148
Drilling | Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Drilling | Contract drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	184,192	[11]	218,982	[14]	188,172
Operating costs:
Operating costs	130,188		150,834		134,432
Drilling | Gas gathering and processing
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Mid-Stream
Revenues:
Revenues	227,939	[11]	312,417		277,049
Operating costs:
Operating costs	176,189		251,328		220,613
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization	47,663		44,834		43,499
Impairments	3,040	[12]	0	[13]
Total expenses	226,892		296,162		264,112
General and administrative	0		0		0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	(160)		(110)		(25)
Income (loss) from operations	1,207		16,365		12,962
Gain (loss) on derivatives	0		0		0
Interest expense, net	(1,546)		(1,214)		0
Other	827		0		0
Income (loss) before income taxes	488		15,151		12,962
Identifiable assets:
Oil and natural gas	0	[1]	0	[2]	0	[3]
Contract drilling	0		0		0
Gas gathering and processing	463,699		466,851		439,369
Total identifiable assets	463,699	[4]	466,851	[5]	439,369	[6]
Corporate land and building	0		0		0
Other corporate assets	0	[7]	0	[8]	0	[9]
Total assets	463,699		466,851		439,369
Capital expenditures:
Total capital expenditures	64,438		44,810		22,168
Mid-Stream | Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Mid-Stream | Contract drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Mid-Stream | Gas gathering and processing
Revenues:
Revenues	227,939	[11]	312,417	[14]	277,049
Operating costs:
Operating costs	176,189		251,328		220,613
Other Segments
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0		0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization	7,707		7,679		7,477
Impairments	0	[12]	0	[13]
Total expenses	7,707		7,679		7,477
General and administrative	38,246		38,707		38,087
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	(11)		(30)		(850)
Income (loss) from operations	(45,942)		(46,356)		(44,714)
Gain (loss) on derivatives	4,225		(3,184)		14,732
Interest expense, net	(35,466)		(32,280)		(38,334)
Other	23		22		21
Income (loss) before income taxes	(77,160)		(81,798)		(68,295)
Identifiable assets:
Oil and natural gas	0	[1]	0	[2]	0	[3]
Contract drilling	0		0		0
Gas gathering and processing	0		0		0
Total identifiable assets	0	[4]	0	[5]	0	[6]
Corporate land and building	54,155		55,505		56,854
Other corporate assets	23,092	[7]	25,566	[8]	25,064	[9]
Total assets	77,247		81,071		81,918
Capital expenditures:
Total capital expenditures	673		1,125		3,521
Other Segments | Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Other Segments | Contract drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Other Segments | Gas gathering and processing
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	0		0		0
Intersubsegment Eliminations
Revenues:
Revenues	(63,294)		(111,177)		(83,325)
Operating costs:
Operating costs	(61,675)		(108,136)		(81,705)
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization	0		0		0
Impairments	0	[12]	0	[13]
Total expenses	(61,675)		(108,136)		(81,705)
General and administrative	0		0		0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	0		0		0
Income (loss) from operations	(1,619)		(3,041)		(1,620)
Gain (loss) on derivatives	0		0		0
Interest expense, net	0		0		0
Other	0		0		0
Income (loss) before income taxes	(1,619)		(3,041)		(1,620)
Identifiable assets:
Oil and natural gas	(4,264)	[1]	(6,949)	[2]	(6,180)	[3]
Contract drilling	(42)		(85)		0
Gas gathering and processing	(4,255)		(5,023)		(798)
Total identifiable assets	(8,561)	[4]	(12,057)	[5]	(6,978)	[6]
Corporate land and building	0		0		0
Other corporate assets	(2,505)	[7]	(2,287)	[8]	0	[9]
Total assets	(11,066)		(14,344)		(6,978)
Capital expenditures:
Total capital expenditures	0		0		0
Intersubsegment Eliminations | Oil and Natural Gas
Revenues:
Revenues	0	[11]	0	[14]	0
Operating costs:
Operating costs	(4,902)		(5,195)		(4,743)
Intersubsegment Eliminations | Contract drilling
Revenues:
Revenues	(15,809)	[11]	(22,490)	[14]	(13,452)
Operating costs:
Operating costs	(14,190)		(19,449)		(11,832)
Intersubsegment Eliminations | Gas gathering and processing
Revenues:
Revenues	(47,485)	[11]	(88,687)	[14]	(69,873)
Operating costs:
Operating costs	$ (42,583)		$ (83,492)		$ (65,130)

[1] Oil and natural gas assets include oil and natural gas properties, saltwater disposal systems, and other non-full cost pool assets.

[2] Oil and natural gas assets include oil and natural gas properties, saltwater disposal systems, and other non-full cost pool assets.

[3] Oil and natural gas assets include oil and natural gas properties, saltwater disposal systems, and other non-full cost pool assets.

[4] Identifiable assets are those used in Unit’s operations in each industry segment.

[5] Identifiable assets are those used in Unit’s operations in each industry segment.

[6] Identifiable assets are those used in Unit’s operations in each industry segment.

[7] Other corporate assets are principally cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, transportation equipment, furniture, and equipment.

[8] Other corporate assets are principally cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, transportation equipment, furniture, and equipment.

[9] Corporate assets are principally cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, transportation equipment, furniture, and equipment.

[10] Unit Corporation's consolidated total assets as of December 31, 2019 include current and long-term assets of its variable interest entity (VIE) (Superior) of $28.8 million and $434.3 million, respectively, which can only be used to settle obligations of the VIE. Unit Corporation's consolidated total liabilities as of December 31, 2019 include current and long-term liabilities of the VIE of $32.2 million and $26.0 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIE have no recourse to Unit Corporation. 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 $40.1 million and $423.3 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 18 – Variable Interest Entity Arrangements.

[11] The revenues for oil and natural gas occur at a point in time. The revenues for contract drilling and gas gathering and processing occur over time.

[12] We incurred non-cash ceiling test write-down of our oil and natural gas properties of $559.4 million pre-tax ($422.4 million, net of tax). We also recognized goodwill impairment charges of $62.8 million pre-tax ($59.8 million, net of tax).

[13] Impairment for contract drilling equipment includes a $147.9 million pre-tax write-down for 41 drilling rigs and other drilling equipment.

[14] The revenues for oil and natural gas occur at a point in time. The revenues for contract drilling and gas gathering and processing occur over time.