LONG-TERM DEBT - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Buckeye Partners Limited Partnership (BPL)	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Buckeye Energy Services Limited Liability Company (BES)	Dec. 31, 2010 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Buckeye Energy Services Limited Liability Company (BES)	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Buckeye Energy Services Limited Liability Company (BES) Current Liabilities	Sep. 26, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Maximum	Sep. 26, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Minimum	Sep. 26, 2011 Revolving Credit Agreement 2011 Specified ratio	Dec. 31, 2011 Letter of Credit	Dec. 31, 2010 Letter of Credit	Dec. 31, 2011 Prior Revolving Credit Agreement Buckeye Partners Limited Partnership (BPL)	Dec. 31, 2010 Prior Revolving Credit Agreement Buckeye Partners Limited Partnership (BPL)	Dec. 31, 2011 Prior Revolving Credit Agreement Buckeye Energy Services Limited Liability Company (BES)	Dec. 31, 2010 Bridge Loan	Dec. 31, 2010 Bridge Loan Maximum	Jan. 31, 2011 4.875% Notes due February 1, 2021	Jan. 13, 2011 4.875% Notes due February 1, 2021	Dec. 31, 2011 4.875% Notes due February 1, 2021		Dec. 31, 2010 Services Company 3.60% ESOP Notes due March 28, 2011
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notes Payable		$ 1,808,825,000	$ 2,650,200,000																	$ 650,000,000	$ 650,000,000	[1]	$ 1,531,000
Commitment, termination description																	120 days after December 18, 2010
Percentage of notes issued in terms of principal amount																				99.62%
Debt instrument, maturity date after December 18, 2010 (in days)																	P120D
Total proceeds from offering, net of underwriters' fees, expenses and debt issuance costs																				642,600,000
Credit facility, debt issuance costs					3,600,000	1,400,000										3,300,000	2,000,000			4,900,000
Treasury lock agreement settlement receipt	500,000																		500,000
Termination date of bridge loan																	January 2011
Credit facility, unamortized deferred financing costs expensed														300,000		3,000,000
Treasury lock agreement		10 years
Treasury lock agreement, treasury rate		3.3375%
Treasury lock agreement, notional amount		650,000,000
Commitment from Barclays Bank and SunTrust Bank for senior unsecured bridge loans																	595,000,000	775,000,000
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				1,250,000,000	1,250,000,000	500,000,000								580,000,000		250,000,000
Credit facility, potential maximum borrowing capacity														780,000,000
Credit facility, maturity date				Sep. 26, 2016		Jun. 25, 2013								Aug. 24, 2012		May 20, 2011
Credit facility, amount outstanding				575,200,000			284,300,000	251,200,000							98,000,000
Credit facility, optional term extension period				2 years
Credit facility, optional commitment increase				500,000,000
Credit facility, terms in (years)				5 years
Credit facility, borrowings during the period					242,300,000	320,200,000
Credit facility, applicable margin for LIBOR rate loans									1.75%	1.00%
Credit facility, applicable margin for base rate loans									0.75%	0.00%
Credit facility, weighted average interest rate				1.70%
Credit facility, funded debt ratio				4.6					5.50		5.00
Credit facility, letters of credit												$ 1,500,000	$ 1,400,000

[1] We make semi-annual interest payments on these notes based on the rates noted above with the principal balances outstanding to be paid on or before the due dates as shown above.