Organization and Operations Organization and Operations (Details) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 282,471	$ 256,851	$ 260,072	$ 199,381	$ 200,081	$ 183,677	$ 179,931	$ 159,409		$ 998,775	$ 723,098	$ 617,391
Depreciation, amortization, and accretion										114,925	104,053	117,147
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Held-for-use		2,900			14,900					3,621	14,876	17,094
Insurance Recoveries										0	2,352	0
Cost of Revenue										836,477	614,708	556,552
Gross profit (loss)	45,184	41,330	47,801	27,983	16,550	42,651	29,535	19,654		162,298	108,390	60,839
General and administrative expense										132,446	115,414	108,422
Goodwill, Impairment Loss									$ 106,200	0	0	106,205
Interest expense, net										70,946	57,246	58,614
Fair Value Adjustment of Warrants										(11,129)	(5,301)	2,106
Liabilities, Fair Value Adjustment										733	2,975	(4,404)
Gain (Loss) Related to Litigation Settlement										0	12,816	0
Other Nonoperating Income (Expense)										7,194	865	4,308
Pretaxincomelossbeforediscontinuedoperations										(36,426)	(44,043)	(223,220)
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)										6,299	751	2,156
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Net of Tax, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest	3,316	(12,852)	(12,132)	(21,057)	(31,726)	(857)	(7,966)	(4,245)		(42,725)	(44,794)	(225,376)
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent										(41,515)	(17,389)	(14,017)
Net income (loss)	2,732	(12,056)	(12,153)	(62,763)	(34,974)	(1,338)	(14,619)	(11,252)		(84,240)	(62,183)	(239,393)
Noncontrolling Interest in Net Income (Loss) Limited Partnerships, Redeemable										(22,623)	(23,135)	(77,931)
Net income (loss) attributable to TETRA stockholders	$ 4,932	$ (6,936)	$ (5,965)	$ (53,648)	$ (28,739)	$ 3,145	$ (10,991)	$ (2,463)		$ (61,617)	$ (39,048)	$ (161,462)
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Per Basic Share | $ / shares	$ 0.04	$ (0.06)	$ (0.05)	$ (0.10)	$ (0.22)	$ 0.03	$ (0.04)	$ 0.04		$ (0.16)	$ (0.19)	$ (1.69)
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations and Disposal of Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Per Basic Share | $ / shares										(0.34)	(0.15)	(0.16)
Earnings Per Share, Basic | $ / shares	0.04	(0.06)	(0.05)	(0.46)	(0.25)	0.03	(0.10)	(0.02)		$ (0.50)	$ (0.34)	$ (1.85)
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic | shares										124,101	114,499	87,286
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Per Diluted Share | $ / shares	0.04	(0.06)	(0.05)	(0.10)	(0.22)	0.03	(0.04)	0.04		$ (0.16)	$ (0.19)	$ (1.69)
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations and Disposal of Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Per Diluted Share | $ / shares										(0.34)	(0.15)	(0.16)
Earnings Per Share, Diluted | $ / shares	$ 0.04	$ (0.06)	$ (0.05)	$ (0.46)	$ (0.25)	$ 0.03	$ (0.10)	$ (0.02)		$ (0.50)	$ (0.34)	$ (1.85)
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted | shares										124,101	114,499	87,286
Number of Operating Segments										3
Product [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax										$ 409,227	$ 305,404	$ 248,691
Cost of Goods and Services Sold										327,553	223,504	193,966
Service [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax										589,548	417,694	368,700
Cost of Goods and Services Sold										$ 390,378	274,627	228,345
Retained Earnings [Member]
Net income (loss)											$ (39,048)	$ (161,462)