Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Oct. 21, 2011
Document And Entity Information
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Entity Registrant Name	HELIX ENERGY SOLUTIONS GROUP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000866829
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		105,473,384