XML 48 R62.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.1.9

Partners' Capital and Distributions (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Partners' Capital and Distributions
Common unitholders, units outstanding (in units)	375,107,793us-gaap_LimitedPartnersCapitalAccountUnitsOutstanding	359,133,200us-gaap_LimitedPartnersCapitalAccountUnitsOutstanding
Ownership interest (as a percent)	98.00%us-gaap_LimitedLiabilityCompanyLLCOrLimitedPartnershipLPMembersOrLimitedPartnersOwnershipInterest
General partner ownership interest (as a percent)	2.00%us-gaap_LimitedLiabilityCompanyLLCOrLimitedPartnershipLPManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerOwnershipInterest
Percentage of available cash distributed (as a percent)	100.00%paa_PercentageDistributionOfAvailableCash
Number of days after end of quarter within which distributions must be paid to unitholders	45 days
Partners Capital and Distribution
Percent of distribution amount to the general partner before incentive distributions	2.00%paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionPercentage
General Partner Distribution - Level One
Partners Capital and Distribution
Percent of distribution amount to the general partner before incentive distributions	2.00%paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionPercentage / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelOneMember
General Partner Distribution - Level Two
Partners Capital and Distribution
Percent of distribution amount to the general partner above threshold	15.00%paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionIncludingIncentiveDistributionPercentage / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelTwoMember
Quarterly incentive distribution threshold amount (in dollars per unit)	0.2250paa_GeneralPartnerIncentiveDistributionThreshold / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelTwoMember
General Partner Distribution - Level Three
Partners Capital and Distribution
Percent of distribution amount to the general partner above threshold	25.00%paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionIncludingIncentiveDistributionPercentage / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelThreeMember
Quarterly incentive distribution threshold amount (in dollars per unit)	0.2475paa_GeneralPartnerIncentiveDistributionThreshold / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelThreeMember
General Partner Distribution - Level Four
Partners Capital and Distribution
Percent of distribution amount to the general partner above threshold	50.00%paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionIncludingIncentiveDistributionPercentage / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelFourMember
Quarterly incentive distribution threshold amount (in dollars per unit)	0.3375paa_GeneralPartnerIncentiveDistributionThreshold / us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis = paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelFourMember

X

- Definition

The percentage of the distribution amount over the threshold that the general partner is entitled to as incentive distributions and distributions related to its general partner interest.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionIncludingIncentiveDistributionPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The percentage of the distribution that the general partner is entitled to based on its ownership.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The threshold over which the general partner is entitled to receive a percentage of the distribution amount as incentive distributions.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_GeneralPartnerIncentiveDistributionThreshold
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The number of days after the end of the relevant quarter within which distributions of available cash must be paid to unitholders.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_NumberOfDaysRequiredForDistributionToUnitholdersAfterEndOfQuarter
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	paa_PartnersCapitalAndDistributionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

This element represents the percentage of cash distributed out of available cash.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_PercentageDistributionOfAvailableCash
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage investment held by the managing member or general partner of the limited liability company (LLC) or limited partnership (LP).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 272

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (b)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6373374&loc=d3e70478-108055

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LimitedLiabilityCompanyLLCOrLimitedPartnershipLPManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerOwnershipInterest
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The number of units or percentage investment held by one or more members or limited partners of the LLC or LP.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 272

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (b)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6373374&loc=d3e70478-108055

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LimitedLiabilityCompanyLLCOrLimitedPartnershipLPMembersOrLimitedPartnersOwnershipInterest
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The number of limited partner units outstanding.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 272

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6373374&loc=d3e70434-108055



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 505

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 5

-Subparagraph (SAB TOPIC 4.F)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187171-122770



Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB)

-Number Topic 4

-Section F

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LimitedPartnersCapitalAccountUnitsOutstanding
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PartnersCapitalNotesAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis=paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelFourMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis=paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelOneMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis=paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelThreeMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncentiveDistributionMadeToManagingMemberOrGeneralPartnerAxis=paa_GeneralPartnerDistributionLevelTwoMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: