Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 16, 2012 Class A	Apr. 16, 2012 Class B
Entity Registrant Name	BERRY PETROLEUM COMPANY
Entity Central Index Key	0000778438
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		52,346,993	1,797,784
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1