Income Taxes - Income Tax Provision, Effective Income Tax Reconciliation, and Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Domestic	$ (2,222)	$ (953)	$ (2,831)
Foreign	446	1,093	640
(Loss) Income Before Income Taxes	(1,776)	140	(2,191)
Current Taxes
Federal	1	22	(11)
State	3	2	1
Foreign	81	172	96
Total Current	85	196	86
Deferred Taxes
Federal	(413)	(123)	(1,258)
State	(25)	(7)	(8)
Foreign	10	60	39
Total Deferred	(428)	(70)	(1,227)
Total Income Tax (Benefit) Provision Attributable to Noble Energy	$ (343)	$ 126	$ (1,141)
Effective Tax Rate	19.30%	90.00%	52.10%
Federal statutory tax rate reconciliation [Abstract]
Federal Statutory Rate (in hundredths)	21.00%	21.00%	35.00%
Effect of
Goodwill Impairment	0.00%	192.50%	0.00%
Change in Valuation Allowance	(0.60%)	(170.20%)	(17.40%)
US and Foreign Statutory Rate Change	0.00%	80.70%	23.50%
Accumulated Undistributed Foreign Earnings	0.00%	0.00%	11.00%
Transition Tax	0.00%	0.00%	(4.80%)
Difference Between US and Foreign Rates	(0.60%)	17.90%	1.80%
Earnings of Equity Method Investments	0.70%	(20.10%)	1.90%
Noncontrolling Interests	0.90%	(12.10%)	1.10%
State Taxes	1.10%	0.90%	0.30%
Foreign Exploration Loss	0.00%	(35.60%)	0.00%
Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI)	(0.80%)	24.20%	0.00%
Return to Provision	0.00%	(17.10%)	(0.10%)
Audit Settlement	0.00%	5.10%	0.10%
Oil Profits Tax - Israel	(0.10%)	3.30%	(0.10%)
Other, Net	(2.30%)	(0.50%)	(0.20%)
Effective Rate	19.30%	90.00%	52.10%
Deferred Tax Assets
Loss Carryforwards	$ 656	$ 589
Employee Compensation and Benefits	92	92
Mark to Market of Commodity Derivative Instruments	11
Mark to Market of Commodity Derivative Instruments		(27)
Foreign Tax Credits	133	138
Other	126	157
Total Deferred Tax Assets	1,018	949
Valuation Allowance - Foreign Loss Carryforwards and Foreign Tax Credits	(327)	(320)
Net Deferred Tax Assets	691	629
Deferred Tax Liabilities
Property, Plant and Equipment, Principally Due to Differences in Depreciation, Amortization, Lease Impairment and Abandonments	(1,338)	(1,669)
Total Deferred Tax Liability	(1,338)	(1,669)
Net Deferred Tax Liability	(647)	(1,040)
Deferred Income Tax Asset - Noncurrent	15	21
Deferred Income Tax Liability - Noncurrent	(662)	$ (1,061)
Domestic Tax Authority
Deferred Tax Assets
Loss Carryforwards	459
Foreign Tax Authority
Deferred Tax Assets
Loss Carryforwards	$ 197