Liquidity and Ability to Continue as a Going Concern (Details) $ in Thousands						2 Months Ended	8 Months Ended
	Dec. 21, 2020 USD ($) shares	Sep. 03, 2020	Aug. 06, 2020	May 22, 2020 USD ($)	May 15, 2020 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Oct. 23, 2020 shares	Sep. 01, 2020	May 26, 2020 USD ($)
Petition date				May 22, 2020
Bankruptcy Proceedings, Court Where Petition Was Filed				United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
Confirmation Date			Aug. 06, 2020
Effective Date		Sep. 03, 2020
Plan of Reorganization, Terms of Plan		Following emergence, the company implemented the provisions of the Plan as follows:•Each lender under the (i) the Senior Credit Agreement dated as of September 13, 2011 (as amended, the Unit credit agreement, and the loan facility, the Unit credit facility), by and among the company, UPC and UDC, as borrowers, the lenders party thereto and BOKF, NA dba Bank of Oklahoma, as administrative agent and (ii) the $36.0 million multi-draw loan facility (DIP credit facility) under the Superpriority Senior Secured Debtor-in-Possession Credit Agreement dated May 27, 2020 (DIP credit agreement), by and among the Debtors, the RBL Lenders (in such capacity, the DIP Lenders) and BOKF, NA dba Bank of Oklahoma, as administrative agent received its pro rata share of revolving loans, term loans and letter of credit participations under the exit facility described below, in exchange for the lender’s allowed claims under the Unit credit facility or DIP credit facility; •Each lender under the Unit credit facility and the DIP credit facility received (or will receive promptly after providing the company with its brokerage account information) its pro rata share of an equity fee under the exit facility equal to 5% of the New Common Stock (subject to dilution by shares reserved for issuance under a management incentive plan and upon exercise of the warrants described below); •The company issued a total of 12.0 million common shares of the reorganized Unit (New Common Stock) at a par value of $0.01 per share to be subsequently distributed in accordance with the Plan; •Each holder of 6.625% senior subordinated notes due 2021 (Notes) received its pro rata share of New Common Stock based on equity allocations at each of Unit, UDC and UPC in exchange for the holder’s allowed Notes claim;•Each holder of an allowed general unsecured claim against Unit or UPC is entitled to receive its pro rata share of New Common Stock based on equity allocations at each of Unit and UPC, respectively; •A disputed claims reserve was established for distribution of New Common Stock on allowance of certain disputed general unsecured claims;•Each holder of an allowed general unsecured claim against UDC, 8200 Unit, Unit Drilling Colombia and Unit Drilling USA received payment or will receive in full of that claim in the ordinary course of business; and•Each retained or former employee with a claim for vested severance benefits, who opted in to a settlement, received or will receive cash payment(s) for the claim in lieu of an allocation of New Common Stock otherwise provided to holders of general unsecured claims.
Warrants and Rights Outstanding, Maturity Date		Sep. 03, 2027
Contractual Interest Expense on Prepetition Liabilities Not Recognized in Statement of Operations						$ 7,000	$ 12,400
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment, Interest					$ 21,500
Minimum [Member]
Substantial Stockholder Percentage									0.0475
Subsequent Event [Member]
Stock and Warrants Issued During Period, Value, Preferred Stock and Warrants	$ 1,800
Class of Warrant or Right, Unissued | shares	79,000
Notes Holders [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding | shares								10,500,000
Disputed Claims Reserve [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding | shares								1,500,000
Common Stock [Member]
Percentage of New Common Shares of the Reorganized Company				12.50%
DIP credit facility [Member]
Debtor-in-Possession Financing, Amount Arranged				$ 36,000						$ 18,000
Percentage of Equity Allocated to Holders of Debtors				5.00%