Earnings Per Share (Schedule Of Earnings (Loss) Per Share) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								4 Months Ended	8 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Aug. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019		Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Aug. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Income (loss) of basic earnings (loss) attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ (8,968)	$ 55,131	$ (9,172)	$ (215,649)	$ (770,494)	$ (334,980)	[1]	$ (206,886)	$ (8,509)	$ (3,504)	$ (18,140)	$ (931,012)	$ (553,879)
Income (loss) of effect of dilutive stock options and restricted stock													0
Income (loss) of diluted earnings (loss) attributable to Unit Corporation per common share													$ (553,879)
Weighted shares of basic earnings (loss) attributable to Unit Corporation per common share											12,000	53,368	52,849
Weighted shares of effect of dilutive stock options and restricted stock													0
Weighted shares of diluted earnings (loss) attributable to Unit Corporation per common share													52,849
Per share amount of basic earnings (loss) attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ (0.75)	$ 1.03	$ (0.76)	$ (4.03)	$ (14.50)	$ (6.33)		$ (3.91)	$ (0.16)	$ (0.07)	$ (1.51)	$ (17.45)	$ (10.48)
Per share amount of effect of dilutive stock options and restricted stock													0
Diluted loss attributable to Unit Corporation per common share	$ (0.75)	$ 1.03	$ (0.76)	$ (4.03)	$ (14.50)	$ (6.33)		$ (3.91)	$ (0.16)	$ (0.07)	$ (1.51)	$ (17.45)	$ (10.48)

[1] During the one-month Successor Period for the third quarter of 2020, we recorded a non-cash ceiling test write-down of $13.2 million pre-tax. 4.During the fourth quarter of 2020, we recorded a non-cash ceiling test write-down of $12.9 million pre-tax. 5.During the first quarter of 2020, we recorded a non-cash ceiling test write-down of $267.8 million pre-tax ($220.8 million, net of tax). We also recorded total expense of $17.6 million related to the abandonment of salt water disposal assets, $407.1 million related to the write-down of the SCR drilling rigs, $3.0 million related to the write-down of other miscellaneous drilling equipment, and $64.0 million related to the write-down of mid-stream assets. 6.During the second quarter of 2020, we recorded a non-cash ceiling test write-down of $109.3 million pre-tax. 7.During the two months ended August 31, 2020, we recorded a non-cash test write-down of $16.6 million pre-tax and $1.2 million related to the abandonment of other miscellaneous drilling equipment. We also recorded $141.0 million gain in reorganization items, net.