Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Feb. 21, 2012 Limited Partner	Feb. 21, 2012 Class B Units
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	BPL
Entity Registrant Name	Buckeye Partners, L.P.
Entity Central Index Key	0000805022
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 5,900,000,000
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			90,279,384	7,304,880