QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (Footnotes) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Earnings Per Share, Basic		$ 0.72
Earnings Per Share, Diluted		$ 0.71	$ 0.19	$ 0.18	$ 0.16					$ 1.25
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted		1,455,000,000.00	1,454,000,000.00	1,453,000,000.00	1,454,000,000.00	1,410,000,000	1,351,000,000	1,269,000,000	1,251,000,000	1,454,000,000.00	1,318,000,000	1,082,000,000
Net (loss) income attributable to common stockholders		$ (1,041)	$ (280)	$ (268)	$ (228)	$ (292)	$ (217)	$ 479	$ 4,184	$ (1,817)	$ 4,154	$ 12,236
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)						$ 0.22	$ 0.18	$ (0.23)	$ (3.34)	$ 1.21	$ (2.96)	$ (11.32)
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Per Basic Share		$ 0.71
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Per Diluted Share		$ 0.70	$ 0.19	$ 0.18	$ 0.13					$ 1.21
Production and delivery										$ 10,300	$ 10,697	$ 10,693
Interest expense, net										(801)	(755)	(617)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes										883	371	(1,951)
Net income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests										(274)	(227)	(27)
Operating income (loss)		$ 1,467	$ 917	$ 669	$ 580	$ 703	$ 359	$ 18	$ (3,872)	3,633	(2,792)	(13,512)
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs		157	64	(30)	19					210
Net gain on sales of assets		15	33	10	23	(113)	13	749		81	649	39
Net tax credits to net income attributable to common stockholders										$ 438
Earnings per share attributable to common stockholders related to Tax Reform (usd per share)										$ 0.30
Provisional net tax benefits associated with Tax Reform										$ 393	0	0
Impairment of oil and gas properties							200	300	3,800	$ 0	$ 4,317	$ 13,144
Impairment of oil and gas properties (usd per share)											$ 3.28
Oil and Gas Idle rig costs, inventory adjustments, asset impairments and other						142	50	729	$ 201		$ 1,100
Oil and Gas Idle Rig Costs, Inventory Adjustments, Asset Impairments and Other, Amount per Share											$ 0.84
Net gains on sales of assets (usd per share)										$ 0.06	$ 0.49
TF Holdings Limited | Disposed of by Sale, Discontinued Operations
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on disposal of discontinued operations						16	(5)	(177)			$ 198
Earnings per share related to disposal of discontinued operations (usd per share)											$ 0.15
Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas | Deepwater Gulf of Mexico and onshore California oil and gas properties
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Gain on redemption of preferred stock	$ 199					199
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Stock in Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee, Amount Per Share											$ 0.15
Cerro Verde Royalty Dispute | Royalty Assessments | Cerro Verde
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)										$ 0
Production and delivery										$ 203
Interest expense, net										(145)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes										7
Net income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests										$ 169
One-time Termination Benefits | Grasberg Segment [Member]
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)										$ 0.04
Production and delivery										$ 120
Net income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests										66
Operating income (loss)										$ (125)
One-time Termination Benefits | Grasberg Segment [Member] | Operating Income (Loss)
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Production and delivery		$ (8)	$ (9)	$ (87)	$ (21)
Alternative minimum tax credits, changes to valuation allowances and net loss carryback [Member]
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)										$ 0.28
Net tax credits to net income attributable to common stockholders						$ 84	$ 332	$ (42)		$ 374
Site Remediation, Reclamation and Closure Costs
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)										$ 0.14
Judicial Ruling | Cerro Verde Royalty Dispute | Unfavorable Regulatory Actions
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Loss In Period, Attributable To Parent										$ 186