Contingencies and Commitments - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012 site	Sep. 30, 2012 site	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 05, 2012 site	Sep. 30, 2012 Chesapeake Utica L.L.C well	Jul. 31, 2011 Clean Energy Fuels Corp.	Sep. 30, 2012 Clean Energy Fuels Corp.	Jul. 11, 2011 Clean Energy Fuels Corp.	Sep. 30, 2012 Sundrop Fuels, Inc.	Jul. 31, 2011 Sundrop Fuels, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2011 Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P	Sep. 30, 2012 Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P	Sep. 30, 2012 Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P EBITD Minimum Committed Amount In 2012	Sep. 30, 2012 Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P EBITD Minimum Committed Amount In 2013	May 31, 2012 Maximum	Jan. 31, 2012 Maximum	May 31, 2012 Minimum	Jan. 31, 2012 Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Monetary Sanctions	Sep. 30, 2012 Civil Penalties	Sep. 30, 2012 Rig Leases	Sep. 30, 2012 Rig Leases Rigs	Sep. 30, 2012 Equipment Rigs	Sep. 30, 2012 Equipment Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Equipment Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Compressor Leases Rigs Compressor	Sep. 30, 2012 Drilling Obligations
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Interest paid			$ 12,000,000
Attorney fees and expenses to plaintiffs' counsel	3,750,000
Loss Contingency, New Claims Filed, Number				13
Maximum working interest percentage allowed				2.50%	2.50%
Defendant Days to Respond to Shareholder Action				60
Purchased natural gas and oil properties					101,000,000
Number of Oil and Gas Drilling Sites				4	4
Numbr of Misdemeanor Counts								3
Congingency loss agreement																							200,000
Litigation Settlement, Gross				600,000	600,000
Contingency Fine Probationary Time				2 years	2 years
Civil penalties				18,000	18,000																			37,500
Loss Contingency, Range of Possible Loss				100,000	100,000
Agreed Contingency Loss				600,000	600,000
Equipment sold (rigs)																										70				2,542
Number of repurchased equipment (rigs)																										24				11
Entered into a master lease agreement under which we agreed to leaseback from the buyer, minimum term (in years)																									5 years	5 years				4 years
Entered into a master lease agreement under which we agreed to leaseback from the buyer, maximum term (in years)																									10 years	10 years				10 years
Aggregate undiscounted minimum future commitments																									332,000,000	332,000,000	316,000,000			443,000,000
Number Of Drilling Rigs Leased																										22	34
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Property, Plant and Equipment																									53,000,000	53,000,000
Lease Termination Costs				25,000,000																					25,000,000
Lease term, in months or years																												3 years	6 months
Minimum committed wells per year									90
Minimum committed wells per year in 2013									270
Minimum committed wells per year in 2014									540
Number of spud wells									87
Drilling carrying percentage, previous amount																															60.00%
Drilling carrying percentage, current amount																															45.00%
Rig count																			6	12	2	6
Capital Expenditures Incurred but Not yet Paid				197,000,000	197,000,000
Cash Payment for Shortfall				36,000,000	36,000,000
Guaranteed gross profit margin		10.00%
Other Commitment, Due in Next Twelve Months				105,000,000	105,000,000
Investment in newly issued convertible notes										150,000,000	50,000,000	50,000,000
Annual rate										7.50%
Conversion premium of convertible option into shares										22.50%
Conversion price for convertible promissory note										$ 15.80
Common Stock Trading Price				13.17	13.17
Investment in preferred stock													115,000,000	155,000,000
Proceeds from divestitures of proved and unproved properties					2,445,000,000	6,357,000,000									884,000,000
EBITDA minimum commitment amount																	100,000,000	150,000,000
Gain on sale of natural gas gathering system and related facilities				10,000,000												27,000,000
Product Liability Contingency, Time Frame of Disbursements							two-year
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes, Extraordinary Items, Noncontrolling Interest																	2,000,000
Capital contributions					1,100,000,000
Equipment Repurchased																														220
Proceeds from Sale of Property, Plant, and Equipment																														28,000,000
Reduction in Operating Leases Future Minimum Payment Due																														$ 23,000,000