Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 20, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	RPC INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000742278
Trading Symbol	res
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		219,492,553
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1