QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenue		$ 840,167	$ 728,384	$ 796,783	$ 1,088,100	$ 1,245,994	$ 1,573,473	$ 1,808,951	$ 1,991,829		$ 3,453,434	$ 6,620,247	$ 5,054,101
Operating income		177,735	143,560	131,019	151,802	102,967	148,941	102,166	141,273		604,116	495,347	478,041
Income from continuing operations		135,097	99,947	91,326	112,021	64,012	107,008	61,939	101,539		438,391	334,498	351,599
Loss from discontinued operations		0	0	0	(857)	(8,133)	(3,280)	(38,186)	(10,042)		(857)	(59,641)	(187,174)
Net income		135,097	99,947	91,326	111,164	55,879	103,728	23,753	91,497		437,534	274,857	164,425
Net income attributable to Buckeye Partners, L.P.		$ 133,992	$ 100,040	$ 91,580	$ 111,611	$ 56,523	$ 102,943	$ 23,020	$ 90,468		$ 437,223	$ 272,954	$ 160,273
Basic earnings (loss) per unit attributable to Buckeye Partners, L.P.:
Continuing operations (in dollars per unit)		$ 1.04	$ 0.78	$ 0.72	$ 0.89	$ 0.51	$ 0.90	$ 0.53	$ 0.87		$ 3.42	$ 2.79	$ 3.25
Discontinued operations (in dollars per unit)		0.00	0.00	0.00	(0.01)	(0.06)	(0.03)	(0.33)	(0.09)		(0.01)	(0.50)	(1.75)
Total (in dollars per unit)		1.04	0.78	0.72	0.88	0.45	0.87	0.20	0.78		3.41	2.29	1.50
Diluted earnings (loss) per unit attributable to Buckeye Partners, L.P.:
Continuing operations (in dollars per unit)		1.03	0.78	0.71	0.88	0.50	0.89	0.53	0.87		3.41	2.78	3.23
Discontinued operations (in dollars per unit)		0.00	0.00	0.00	(0.01)	(0.06)	(0.03)	(0.33)	(0.09)		(0.01)	(0.50)	(1.74)
Total (in dollars per unit)		$ 1.03	$ 0.78	$ 0.71	$ 0.87	$ 0.44	$ 0.86	$ 0.20	$ 0.78		$ 3.40	$ 2.28	$ 1.49
Litigation contingency accrual	$ 40,000	$ 2,390	$ 1,700	$ 13,500		$ 40,000					$ 2,390	$ 40,000
Quarterly financial data
Impairment of assets of discontinued operations											$ 0	23,365	$ 169,002
Natural Gas Storage
Quarterly financial data
Impairment of assets of discontinued operations	$ 2,500						$ (5,400)	$ 26,300		$ 169,000		$ 23,400