Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2022	Feb. 09, 2023	Jun. 30, 2022
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K/A
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) is filing this Amendment No. 1 (“Form 10-K/A”) to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 13, 2023 (the “Original Form 10-K”), to:1.Provide an amended report of its independent registered public accounting firm, in order to correct an administrative oversight related to the omission of references to the information contained in Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Financial Statement as required by Rule 5-04(c) of Regulation S-X; and 2.Provide an updated consent of its independent registered public accounting firm.In accordance with applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules and as required by Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Form 10-K/A includes new certifications from our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer dated as of the date of filing of Form 10-K/A.This Form 10-K/A speaks as of the original filing date of the Original Form 10-K, does not reflect events that may have occurred subsequent to the original filing date, and does not modify or update in any way the Company's disclosures made in the Original Form 10-K. There are no changes to the Original Form 10-K other than to the report of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm as specified above.
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2022
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2022
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Registrant Name	Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.
Document Financial Statement Error Correction [Flag]	false
Trading Symbol	PTEN
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value
Entity Central Index Key	0000889900
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
ICFR Auditor Attestation Flag	true
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		213,655,888
Entity Public Float			$ 3.4
Document Annual Report	true
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	1-39270
Entity Tax Identification Number	75-2504748
Entity Address, Address Line One	10713 W. Sam Houston Pkwy N
Entity Address, Address Line Two	Suite 800
Entity Address, City or Town	Houston
Entity Address, State or Province	TX
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	77064
City Area Code	281
Local Phone Number	765-7100
Auditor Firm ID	238
Auditor Name	PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Auditor Location	Houston, Texas