Earnings Per Share - Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of EPS Table (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net income (loss) available to common stockholders	$ 60	$ (41)	$ 288	$ 506
Effect of dilutive securities	0	0	0	0
Diluted income (loss) available to common stockholders	$ 60	$ (41)	$ 288	$ 506
Dilutive Securities, Effect on Basic Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	910	909	909	908
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	1	0	0	0
Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding, diluted (in shares)	911	909	909	908
Net income per share attributable to Chesapeake:
Earnings per common share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.07	$ (0.05)	$ 0.32	$ 0.56
Earnings per common share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.07	$ (0.05)	$ 0.32	$ 0.56
Convertible debt securities [Member]
Net income per share attributable to Chesapeake:
Shares of common stock for the following securities were excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS as the effect was antidilutive:	146	146	146	146
Participating securities [Member]
Net income per share attributable to Chesapeake:
Shares of common stock for the following securities were excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS as the effect was antidilutive:	2	0	1	1
Preferred stock [Member]
Net income per share attributable to Chesapeake:
Shares of common stock for the following securities were excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS as the effect was antidilutive:	60	60	60	60