Quarterly Financial Data (unaudited) (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Apr. 14, 2020	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Total revenues		$ 1,259	$ 975	$ 521	$ 2,541	$ 1,926	$ 2,087	$ 2,386	$ 2,196	$ 5,296		$ 8,595		$ 10,030
Income (loss) from operations		176	(111)	(541)	(8,227)	(173)	46	278	(182)	(8,703)		(31)		382
Net income (loss) attributable to Chesapeake		(416)	(745)	(276)	(8,297)	(324)	(61)	98	(21)	(9,734)		(308)		226
Net income (loss) available to common stockholders		$ (416)	$ (745)	$ (276)	$ (8,319)	$ (346)	$ (101)	$ 75	$ (44)	$ (9,756)		$ (416)		$ 133
EARNINGS (LOSS) PER COMMON SHARE:
Basic (in usd per share) | $ / shares		$ (42.54)	$ (76.18)	$ (28.22)	$ (852.97)	$ (35.53)	$ (11.89)	$ 9.21	$ (6.37)	$ (998.26)	[1]	$ (49.97)	[1]	$ 29.26	[1]
Diluted (in usd per share) | $ / shares		$ (42.54)	$ (76.18)	$ (28.22)	$ (852.97)	$ (35.53)	$ (11.89)	$ 9.21	$ (6.37)	$ (998.26)	[1]	$ (49.97)	[1]	$ 29.26	[1]
Impairments					$ 8,446					$ 8,535		$ 11		$ 131
Stock split, conversion ratio	0.005

[1] Amounts and shares have been retroactively adjusted to reflect a 1-for-200 (1:200) reverse stock split effective April 14, 2020. See Note 11 for additional information.