Discontinued Operations (Details) (Venezuelan subsidiary)	1 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2010 item
Venezuelan subsidiary
Discontinued Operations, Additional Disclosures
Number of rigs owned subject to forceful acquisition	11

Represents the number of rigs owned by a subsidiary of the entity which were subject to forceful acquisition.

No definition available.

Name:	hp_NumberOfRigsOwnedSubjectToForcefulAcquisition
Namespace Prefix:	hp_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration