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NATURE OF OPERATIONS	12 Months Ended
NATURE OF OPERATIONS	Sep. 30, 2012
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
NATURE OF OPERATIONS	NATURE OF OPERATIONS Atwood Oceanics, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which are collectively referred to herein as the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” except where stated or the context indicates otherwise, are a global offshore drilling contractor engaged in the drilling and completion of exploratory and developmental oil and gas wells. We currently own a diversified fleet of 11 mobile offshore drilling units located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea, offshore West Africa, offshore Southeast Asia and offshore Australia and are constructing three ultra-deepwater drillships and two high specification jackup rigs for delivery in fiscal year 2013 through 2015. We were founded in 1968 and are headquartered in Houston, Texas with support offices in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.