Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Apr. 19, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
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		147,654,046
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No