Nature of Operations (Details)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Nature of Operations Disclosures [Abstract]
Percentage of outstanding common stock beneficially owned by Mr.William's	26.00%
Percentage of outstanding common stock owned by a partnership in which Mr. William's adult children are limited partners	25.00%

Represents the percentage of the entity's outstanding common stock owned by a partnership in which the Chairman of the Board/Chief Executive Officer's adult children are limited partners.

No definition available.

Name:	cwei_OwnershipPercentageOfCommonStockOutstandingByPartnership
Namespace Prefix:	cwei_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration