Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation	Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation Rowan Companies plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Our fleet currently consists of 32 mobile offshore drilling units, including 28 self-elevating jack-up drilling units and four ultra-deepwater drillships. We contract our drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews primarily on a day rate basis in markets throughout the world, currently in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (US GOM), the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Trinidad. The financial statements included in this Form 10-Q are presented in United States (U.S.) dollars and include the accounts of Rowan Companies plc (“Rowan plc”) and its subsidiaries. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” are used to refer to Rowan plc and its consolidated subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. The financial statements included in this Form 10-Q have been prepared without audit in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (US GAAP) for interim financial information and the applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain information and notes have been condensed or omitted as permitted by those rules and regulations. Management believes the accompanying financial statements contain all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature unless otherwise noted, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. The Company’s results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. New Accounting Standards – In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which sets forth a global standard for revenue recognition and replaces most existing industry-specific guidance. We will be required to adopt the new standard in annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2018. We are currently evaluating the potential effect of the new standard. In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis, which changes the analysis that a reporting entity must perform to determine whether it should consolidate certain types of legal entities. We will be required to adopt the new standard in annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2016. We do not expect adoption of the new standard will have a material effect on our financial statements. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, which changes the presentation of debt issuance costs in financial statements. Under this ASU, an entity presents such costs in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt liability rather than as an asset. ASU 2015-03 did not address the presentation of debt issuance costs associated with line-of-credit arrangements, which was addressed in ASU No. 2015-15, issued in August 2015. Under ASU 2015-15, entities may continue to present debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements as an asset and amortize the deferred costs ratably over the term of the line-of-credit arrangement, regardless of whether there were any outstanding borrowings under the arrangement. We will be required to adopt the new standards in annual and interim periods retrospectively beginning January 1, 2016, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect adoption will have a material effect on our financial statements.

Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Rowan Companies plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Our fleet currently consists of 32 mobile offshore drilling units, including 28 self-elevating jack-up drilling units and four ultra-deepwater drillships. We contract our drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews primarily on a day rate basis in markets throughout the world, currently in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (US GOM), the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Trinidad.

The financial statements included in this Form 10-Q are presented in United States (U.S.) dollars and include the accounts of Rowan Companies plc (“Rowan plc”) and its subsidiaries. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” are used to refer to Rowan plc and its consolidated subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation.

The financial statements included in this Form 10-Q have been prepared without audit in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (US GAAP) for interim financial information and the applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain information and notes have been condensed or omitted as permitted by those rules and regulations. Management believes the accompanying financial statements contain all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature unless otherwise noted, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. The Company’s results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

New Accounting Standards – In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which sets forth a global standard for revenue recognition and replaces most existing industry-specific guidance. We will be required to adopt the new standard in annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2018. We are currently evaluating the potential effect of the new standard.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis, which changes the analysis that a reporting entity must perform to determine whether it should consolidate certain types of legal entities. We will be required to adopt the new standard in annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2016. We do not expect adoption of the new standard will have a material effect on our financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, which changes the presentation of debt issuance costs in financial statements. Under this ASU, an entity presents such costs in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt liability rather than as an asset. ASU 2015-03 did not address the presentation of debt issuance costs associated with line-of-credit arrangements, which was addressed in ASU No. 2015-15, issued in August 2015. Under ASU 2015-15, entities may continue to present debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements as an asset and amortize the deferred costs ratably over the term of the line-of-credit arrangement, regardless of whether there were any outstanding borrowings under the arrangement. We will be required to adopt the new standards in annual and interim periods retrospectively beginning January 1, 2016, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect adoption will have a material effect on our financial statements.