Equity (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Aug. 18, 2014	Aug. 04, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014 Compressor Systems, Inc. [Member]	Aug. 11, 2014 Compressor Systems, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of Compressco common units sold							15,280,000
General Partners' capital contribution								$ 1,100,000
TETRA's ownership interest in Compressco Partners	44.00%		44.00%
TETRA's ownership interest in Compressco Partners prior to offering			82.00%
TETRA's limited partner interest in Compressco Partners						42.00%
Total number of new units issued			17,572,000
Number of subordinated units					6,273,970
Foreign currency translation adjustment, taxes	$ 1,198,000	$ 165,000	$ 1,644,000	$ 711,000