Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Pioneer Energy Services Corp. and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of our management, all adjustments (consisting of normal, recurring accruals) necessary for a fair presentation have been included. We suggest that you read these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements together with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as amended. As described below, as a result of the application of fresh start accounting and the effects of the implementation of our Plan of Reorganization (as defined below), the consolidated financial statements after the Effective Date (as defined below) are not comparable with the consolidated financial statements on or before that date. See Note 3, Fresh Start Accounting, for additional information.
Fresh Start Accounting	Chapter 11 Cases — On March 1, 2020 (the “Petition Date”), Pioneer and certain of our domestic subsidiaries (collectively, the “Debtors”) filed voluntary petitions (the “Bankruptcy Petitions”) for reorganization under title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Bankruptcy Court”). On May 11, 2020, the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the plan of reorganization (the “Plan”) that was filed with the Bankruptcy Court on March 2, 2020, and on May 29, 2020 (the “Effective Date”), the conditions to effectiveness of the plan were satisfied and we emerged from Chapter 11. See Note 2, Emergence from Voluntary Reorganization under Chapter 11, for more information. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared as if we are a going concern and in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 852, Reorganizations (ASC Topic 852). Upon emergence from bankruptcy, we adopted fresh start accounting in accordance with ASC Topic 852 and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the condensed consolidated financial statements after the Effective Date are not comparable with the consolidated financial statements on or before that date as indicated by the “black line” division in the financial statements and footnote tables, which emphasizes the lack of comparability between amounts presented. References to “Successor” relate to our financial position and results of operations after the Effective Date. References to “Predecessor” refer to our financial position and results of operations on or before the Effective Date. We evaluated the events between May 29, 2020 and May 31, 2020 and concluded that the use of an accounting convenience date of May 31, 2020 (the “Fresh Start Reporting Date”) would not have a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements. As such, the application of fresh start accounting was reflected in our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of May 31, 2020 and related fresh start accounting adjustments were included in our condensed consolidated statement of operations for the five months ended May 31, 2020. See Note 3, Fresh Start Accounting, for additional information.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates — In preparing the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, we make various estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities we report as of the dates of the balance sheets and income and expenses we report for the periods shown in the income statements and statements of cash flows. Our actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Material estimates affecting our financial results, including those that are particularly susceptible to significant changes in the near term, relate to our application of fresh start accounting, our estimates of certain variable revenues and amortization periods of certain deferred revenues and costs associated with drilling daywork contracts, our estimates of projected cash flows and fair values for impairment evaluations, our estimate of the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, and our estimate of the liability relating to the self-insurance portion of our health and workers’ compensation insurance. For information about our use of estimates relating to fresh start accounting, see Note 3, Fresh Start Accounting.
Subsequent Events	Subsequent Events — In preparing the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, we have reviewed events that have occurred after September 30, 2020, through the filing of this Form 10-Q, for inclusion as necessary.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards	Recently Issued Accounting Standards Changes to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) are established by the FASB in the form of Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) to the FASB ASC. We consider the applicability and impact of all ASUs. Other than the ASU listed below, we have determined that there are currently no new or recently adopted ASUs which we believe will have a material impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations. •Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by reducing the number of accounting models available for convertible debt instruments and preferred stock. Additionally, this ASU improves the consistency of EPS calculations by requiring entities to apply one method, the if-converted method, to all convertible instruments in diluted earnings-per-share calculations. As a smaller reporting company, this ASU will be effective for us on January 1, 2024, however, early adoption is permitted on January 1, 2021. We are currently evaluating the effect that the ASU will have on our consolidated financial statements.
Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash	Cash and Cash Equivalents — We had no cash equivalents at September 30, 2020. Cash equivalents at December 31, 2019 were $8.9 million, consisting of investments in highly-liquid money-market mutual funds. Restricted Cash — Our restricted cash balance at September 30, 2020 reflects the professional fees escrow balance which will be released in accordance with the Plan, as well as $2.2 million of proceeds from asset sales which were used to fund the redemption of Senior Secured Notes tendered in October 2020, as described further in Note 7, Debt. Our restricted cash balance at December 31, 2019 reflects the portion of net proceeds from the issuance of our senior secured term loan held in a restricted account until the completion of certain administrative tasks related to providing access rights to certain of our real property, a condition which is still in effect under the terms of our post-emergence debt instruments.
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets — Prepaid expenses and other current assets include items such as insurance, rent deposits, software subscriptions, and other fees. We routinely expense these items in the normal course of business over the periods that we benefit from these expenses. Prepaid expenses and other current assets also include deferred mobilization costs for short-term drilling contracts and demobilization revenues recognized on drilling contracts expiring in the near term.