Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Nov. 03, 2017
Document Documentand Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	PVAC
Entity Registrant Name	PENN VIRGINIA CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000077159
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		15,004,270