Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
HollyFrontier Stockholders' Equity:
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	320,000,000	320,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	255,962,866	255,962,866
Preferred stock, par value	$ 1.00	$ 1.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Treasury stock, shares	52,417,146	46,630,220