Long-term Debt (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Steel Energy Ltd	Dec. 31, 2013 Energy Credit Agreement Long-term Debt Steel Energy Ltd	Dec. 31, 2013 Energy Credit Agreement Term Loan Steel Energy Ltd	Dec. 31, 2013 Energy Credit Agreement Line of Credit Revolving Credit Facility Steel Energy Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Amended Credit Agreement Steel Energy Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Amended Credit Agreement Steel Energy Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Amended Credit Agreement Long-term Debt Steel Energy Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Amended Credit Agreement Term Loan Steel Energy Ltd	Sep. 30, 2014 Amended Credit Agreement Term Loan Steel Energy Ltd	Sep. 30, 2013 Sun Well Credit Agreement Sun Well	Sep. 30, 2013 Sun Well Credit Agreement Sun Well	Sep. 30, 2014 Sun Well Credit Agreement Term Loan Sun Well	Sep. 30, 2014 Sun Well Credit Agreement Line of Credit Revolving Credit Facility Sun Well
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 82,589,000		$ 82,589,000		$ 82,600,000	$ 105,000,000	$ 95,000,000									$ 20,000,000.0
Maximum borrowing capacity								10,000,000.0									5,000,000.0
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	(463,000)	0	(463,000)
Borrowing base of eligible accounts receivable (as a percent)								85.00%
Quarterly installments											3,300,000
Interest rate (as a percent)									3.00%	3.00%
Interest expense	778,000	745,000	2,468,000	1,000,000					800,000	2,400,000				100,000	300,000
Interest on term loans												700,000	2,000,000
Amortization of deferred financing fees												$ 100,000	$ 400,000