Basis Of Presentation And New Accounting Standards (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis Of Presentation	The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Helix”). Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “we,” “us” and “our” in this report refer collectively to Helix and its subsidiaries. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to instructions for the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and do not include all information and footnotes normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP in U.S. dollars and are consistent in all material respects with those applied in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K (our “2020 Form 10-K”) with the exception of the impact of early adopting Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-06 on a modified retrospective basis beginning January 1, 2021 (see below). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and the related disclosures. Actual results may differ from our estimates. We have made all adjustments, which, unless otherwise disclosed, are of normal recurring nature, that we believe are necessary for a fair presentation of the condensed consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, statements of comprehensive income and statements of cash flows, as applicable. The operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021. Our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 included herein has been derived from the audited balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 included in our 2020 Form 10-K. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited annual consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2020 Form 10-K.
Reclassifications	Certain reclassifications were made to previously reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto to make them consistent with the current presentation format.
New Accounting Standards	New accounting standards In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity's Own Equity,” which simplifies the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, including convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity. Among other changes, this ASU removes from GAAP the requirement to separate certain convertible instruments, such as our Convertible Senior Notes Due 2022, Convertible Senior Notes Due 2023 and Convertible Senior Notes Due 2026 (Note 5), into liability and equity components. Consequently, those convertible instruments will be accounted for in their entirety as liabilities measured at their amortized cost. We elected to early adopt ASU No. 2020-06 on a modified retrospective basis beginning January 1, 2021. The adoption of this ASU increased our long-term debt and decreased our common stock by $44.1 million and $41.5 million, respectively, as we reclassified the conversion features associated with our various outstanding convertible senior notes from equity to long-term debt. The adoption of this ASU also increased our retained earnings and decreased deferred tax liabilities by $6.7 million and $9.3 million, respectively. Subsequent to its adoption, the ASU is also expected to reduce our interest expense as there will no longer be debt discounts to amortize associated with our outstanding convertible senior notes. Additionally, the ASU no longer permits the treasury stock method for convertible instruments and instead requires the application of the if-converted method to calculate the impact of our convertible senior notes on diluted earnings per share (“EPS”). We do not expect any other recently issued accounting standards to have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows when they become effective.

Basis Of Presentation And New Accounting Standards (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Helix”). Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “we,” “us” and “our” in this report refer collectively to Helix and its subsidiaries. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to instructions for the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and do not include all information and footnotes normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP in U.S. dollars and are consistent in all material respects with those applied in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K (our “2020 Form 10-K”) with the exception of the impact of early adopting Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-06 on a modified retrospective basis beginning January 1, 2021 (see below). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and the related disclosures. Actual results may differ from our estimates. We have made all adjustments, which, unless otherwise disclosed, are of normal recurring nature, that we believe are necessary for a fair presentation of the condensed consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, statements of comprehensive income and statements of cash flows, as applicable. The operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021. Our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 included herein has been derived from the audited balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 included in our 2020 Form 10-K. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited annual consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications were made to previously reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto to make them consistent with the current presentation format.

New Accounting Standards

New accounting standards

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity's Own Equity,” which simplifies the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, including convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity. Among other changes, this ASU removes from GAAP the requirement to separate certain convertible instruments, such as our Convertible Senior Notes Due 2022, Convertible Senior Notes Due 2023 and Convertible Senior Notes Due 2026 (Note 5), into liability and equity components. Consequently, those convertible instruments will be accounted for in their entirety as liabilities measured at their amortized cost. We elected to early adopt ASU No. 2020-06 on a modified retrospective basis beginning January 1, 2021. The adoption of this ASU increased our long-term debt and decreased our common stock by $44.1 million and $41.5 million, respectively, as we reclassified the conversion features associated with our various outstanding convertible senior notes from equity to long-term debt. The adoption of this ASU also increased our retained earnings and decreased deferred tax liabilities by $6.7 million and $9.3 million, respectively. Subsequent to its adoption, the ASU is also expected to reduce our interest expense as there will no longer be debt discounts to amortize associated with our outstanding convertible senior notes. Additionally, the ASU no longer permits the treasury stock method for convertible instruments and instead requires the application of the if-converted method to calculate the impact of our convertible senior notes on diluted earnings per share (“EPS”).

We do not expect any other recently issued accounting standards to have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows when they become effective.