Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 BRL	Dec. 31, 2014 Customs and Other Business Taxes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Noble Discoverer And Kulluk [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Noble Discoverer And Kulluk [Member] Community Service Payment [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Minimum [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Asbestos Cases [Member] Lawsuits	Dec. 31, 2014 Libya [Member] USD ($) Rigs	Dec. 31, 2014 Mexico [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Mexico [Member] Aforementioned tax assessments[Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Mexico [Member] Noble-Cayman [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Brazil [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Brazil [Member] Aforementioned tax assessments[Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Brazil [Member] Noble-Cayman [Member] USD ($)
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of wells								2
Operating dayrate (per day)								$ 538,000
Community service payments				8,200,000	4,000,000
Environmental Compliance Plan, probationary period				4 years
Number of Lawsuits filed							42
Percentage of uncertain tax positions likelihood of being sustained						50.00%
Audit claims, additional attributable to other business tax returns			66,000,000
Aforementioned tax assessments									141,000,000	121,000,000	20,000,000	165,000,000	46,000,000	46,000,000
Amount of withholding after spin-off	30,000,000	79,000,000
Physical damage deductible per occurrence on rigs range maximum	25,000,000	25,000,000
Loss of hire coverage applies only to rigs operating under dayrate						200,000
Number of days waiting period	45 days	45 days
Protection and indemnity policy, standard deductible (per occurrence)	10,000,000
Maximum liability coverage under protection and indemnity policy	750,000,000
Outstanding commitments including shipyard and purchase commitments	$ 729,000,000
Years of effectiveness of employment agreements after the termination of employment	3 years	3 years