Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jul. 20, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	RPC INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000742278
Trading Symbol	res
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		214,826,513
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2