Business Segments - Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes (Detail) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting Reconciling Item For Operating Profit Loss From Segment To Consolidated [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)		$ (82,763,000)	$ (307,305,000)	$ (48,125,000)	$ (23,383,000)	$ (210,790,000)	$ (80,281,000)	$ (9,004,000)	$ (22,102,000)	$ (461,576,000)	$ (322,177,000)	$ (292,538,000)
Other operating income, net	[1]									2,305,000	17,569,000	31,957,000
Provision for bad debts										(5,683,000)	0	0
Interest income										6,013,000	5,597,000	1,866,000
Interest expense										(75,204,000)	(51,578,000)	(37,472,000)
Other										389,000	750,000	343,000
Loss before income taxes										(530,378,000)	(367,408,000)	(327,801,000)
Corporate
Segment Reporting Reconciling Item For Operating Profit Loss From Segment To Consolidated [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)										(96,719,000)	(93,585,000)	(152,792,000)
Operating Segments | Contract Drilling
Segment Reporting Reconciling Item For Operating Profit Loss From Segment To Consolidated [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)										(151,329,000)	(33,115,000)	(171,897,000)
Operating Segments | Pressure Pumping
Segment Reporting Reconciling Item For Operating Profit Loss From Segment To Consolidated [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)										(102,701,000)	(77,328,000)	21,028,000
Operating Segments | Directional Drilling
Segment Reporting Reconciling Item For Operating Profit Loss From Segment To Consolidated [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)										(52,724,000)	(117,497,000)	(21,000)
Other Operations
Segment Reporting Reconciling Item For Operating Profit Loss From Segment To Consolidated [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)										$ (54,725,000)	$ (18,221,000)	$ (20,813,000)

[1] Other operating income, net includes net gains associated with the disposal of assets related to corporate strategy decisions of the executive management group. Accordingly, the related gains have been excluded from the operating results of specific segments. This caption also includes certain legal-related expenses and settlements, net of insurance reimbursements and certain research and development expenses.