Deferred Revenue from Volumetric Production Payment (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2015 USD ($) MBoe	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($) MBoe partnership	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Changes in deferred revenue from the VPP
Beginning of year			$ 5,470	$ 23,129
Deferred revenue from VPP			0	2,866
Amortization of deferred revenue from VPP			(1,479)	(6,822)	$ (7,708)
Termination of VPP			0	(13,703)	0
End of year			$ 3,991	$ 5,470	$ 23,129
Number of limited partnerships involved in the mergers | partnership		24
Southwest Royalties, Inc. | Limited partnerships
Changes in deferred revenue from the VPP
Termination of VPP	$ (13,700)
Upfront cash proceeds under VPP		$ 44,400
Deferred future advances under VPP		$ 4,700
Barrels of oil equivalents of future oil and gas production covered by a term overriding royalty interest conveyed to a third party under the terms of the VPP (in BOE) | MBoe		725
Volumetric production payment terminated during period (in MBOE) | MBoe	277