Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Oct. 26, 2012 Class A	Oct. 26, 2012 Class B
Entity Registrant Name	BERRY PETROLEUM COMPANY
Entity Central Index Key	0000778438
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		52,386,165	1,763,866
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3