Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jul. 25, 2016
Document Documentand Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	PVAHQ
Entity Registrant Name	PENN VIRGINIA CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000077159
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		88,217,880