Acquisitions and Dispositions (Details)	3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	May 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Optima Solutions [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 09, 2012 Optima Solutions [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 09, 2012 Optima Solutions [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2012 Eastern Reservoir Services [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 23, 2012 Eastern Reservoir Services [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Greywolf Production Systems [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2012 Greywolf Production Systems [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 20, 2011 Heavy Lift Derrick Barge [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 01, 2011 Project Management Business [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 ProServ Wireline [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2010 Oil And Gas Properties [Member] USD ($)
Acquisitions [Line Items]
Percentage of outstanding interest in entity acquired									100.00%	100.00%
Purchase price for acquired entities									$ 65,000,000	£ 41,200,000		$ 42,500,000		$ 55,500,000	$ 62,800,000	$ 1,500,000	$ 6,300,000	$ 6,700,000
Portion of purchase price held in escrow															20,800,000
Provision for contingent consideration										4,000,000
Purchase price allocation, net working capital									3,000,000
Purchase price allocation, property, plant, and equipment									16,800,000			18,500,000		17,700,000			6,400,000
Purchase price allocation, deferred tax liabilities									7,200,000								700,000
Purchase price allocation, intangible assets									20,400,000			3,400,000		3,500,000			600,000
Purchase price allocation, nondeductible goodwill									35,600,000			20,600,000		34,300,000
Purchase price allocation, liabilities associated with contingent purchase price consideration									3,500,000
Revenues from acquired entity								20,200,000			24,600,000		17,300,000
Depreciation and amortization from acquired entity								3,100,000			3,000,000		1,000,000
Pretax earnings from acquired entity								2,500,000			5,400,000		1,100,000
Adjustment of liabilities associated with contingent purchase price, credited to earnings								1,400,000
Transaction costs associated with acquisition									1,300,000			500,000		1,000,000
Percentage of proved reserves sold as of May 31, 2011							79.00%
Base sale price of oil and gas properties							222,300,000
Asset retirement obligations assumed by buyer of oil and gas properties							72,700,000
Net proceeds from sale of oil and gas properties							173,300,000
Recorded amount of net gain on sale of oil and gas properties							56,800,000
Employee retention and incentive benefits paid in connection with sale of oil and gas properties			2,700,000
Percentage of proved reserves sold in August 2011		3.00%		12.00%
Aggregate amount of asset retirement obligations assumed by buyers of oil and gas properties						122,000,000
Cash received on sale of oil and gas properties	4,400,000
Cash paid in connection with the sale of oil and gas properties				2,800,000
Pro forma financials [Table]
Revenues					924,795,000	945,112,000
Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion					78,826,000	104,274,000
Gross profit					180,645,000	121,674,000
Income before discontinued operations					25,858,000	15,071,000
Net income					25,861,000	15,007,000
Net income attributable to TETRA stockholders					$ 23,064,000	$ 13,736,000
Per share information:
Income before discontinued operations attributable to TETRA stockholders (basic)					$ 0.3	$ 0.18
Income before discontinued operations attributable to TETRA stockholders (diluted)					$ 0.29	$ 0.18
Net income attributable to TETRA stockholders (basic)					$ 0.3	$ 0.18
Net income attributable to TETRA stockholders (diluted)					$ 0.29	$ 0.18