Distributions to participating securities pertaining to current period earnings.

No definition available.

Name:	paa_DistributionsToParticipatingSecurities
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of economic interest held by the managing member or general partner of the limited liability company (LLC) or limited partnership (LP), converted into a non-economic interest.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units Issuable

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_LimitedPartnersCapitalAccountUnitsIssuable
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This element represents the net income (loss) attributable to common unitholders in the calculation of basic net income per common unit after making an adjustment in accordance with the application of the two-class method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_NetIncomeLossAttributabletoCommonUnitholdersafterAdjustmentforTwoClassMethodBasic
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the net income (loss) attributable to common unitholders in the calculation of diluted net income per common unit after making an adjustment in accordance with the application of the two-class method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_NetIncomeLossAttributabletoCommonUnitholdersafterAdjustmentforTwoClassMethodDiluted
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of earnings allocated to other for the basic earnings (loss) per share or per unit calculation under the two-class method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_OtherAllocatedEarningsBasic
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of earnings allocated to other for the diluted earnings (loss) per share or per unit calculation under the two-class method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_OtherAllocatedEarningsDiluted
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of undistributed earnings (loss) allocated to the general partner of a partnership for the basic earnings (loss) per share or per unit calculation under the two-class method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_UndistributedEarningsLossAllocatedToGeneralPartnerBasic
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of undistributed earnings (loss) allocated to the general partner of a partnership for the diluted earnings (loss) per share or per unit calculation under the two-class method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	paa_UndistributedEarningsLossAllocatedToGeneralPartnerDiluted
Namespace Prefix:	paa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Distributions from earnings to the general partner of a partnership included in the consolidated financial statements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GeneralPartnerDistributions
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- 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

- Definition

The number of limited partner units issued.

+ References

Reference 1: 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 2: 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

+ Details

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

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Net Income
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51831255

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66902209&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 260
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6371337&loc=d3e3550-109257

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 225
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-04(22))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879574&loc=d3e536633-122882

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 225
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04(18))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879464&loc=d3e573970-122913

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Other Comprehensive Income
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51831270

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 225
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03(20))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=63488584&loc=d3e20235-122688

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Per unit of ownership amount after tax of income (loss) available to limited partnership (LP) unit-holder and units that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of limited partner units for dilutive potential units outstanding.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NetIncomeLossNetOfTaxPerOutstandingLimitedPartnershipUnitDiluted
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Per unit of ownership amount after tax of income (loss) available to outstanding limited partnership (LP) unit-holder.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NetIncomeLossPerOutstandingLimitedPartnershipUnitBasicNetOfTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

The amount of preferred stock dividends that is an adjustment to net income apportioned to common stockholders.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PreferredStockDividendsIncomeStatementImpact
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Weighted average number of limited partnership units outstanding determined by relating the portion of time within a reporting period that limited partnership units have been outstanding to the total time in that period.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_WeightedAverageLimitedPartnershipUnitsOutstanding
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_WeightedAverageLimitedPartnershipUnitsOutstandingDiluted
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The sum of dilutive potential limited partnership units used in the calculation of the diluted per-unit computation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_WeightedAverageNumerDilutedLimitedPartnershipUnitsOutstandingAdjustment
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LimitedPartnersCapitalAccountByClassAxis=paa_CommonUnitsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionAxis=paa_SimplificationAgreementMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CounterpartyNameAxis=paa_PaaGPLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CounterpartyNameAxis=paa_PlainsAapLPMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Net Income Per Common Unit (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions		3 Months Ended								10 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Nov. 15, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Nov. 14, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Related Party Transactions
General partner ownership interest										2.00%
Basic Net Income per Common Unit
Net income attributable to PAA		$ 126	$ 297	$ 101	$ 202	$ 247	$ 249	$ 124	$ 283		$ 726	$ 903	$ 1,384
Distributions to Series A preferred units											(122)	0	0
Distributions to general partner											(412)	(608)	(502)
Distributions to participating securities											(4)	(6)	(6)
Undistributed loss allocated to general partner											14	16	2
Other											(2)	0	0
Net income allocated to common unitholders in accordance with application of the two-class method											$ 200	$ 305	878
Basic net income/(loss) per common unit (in dollars per unit)		$ 0.14	$ 0.40	$ (0.20)	$ 0.07	$ 0.24	$ 0.25	$ (0.06)	$ 0.36		$ 0.43	$ 0.78
Diluted Net Income per Common Unit
Net income attributable to PAA		$ 126	$ 297	$ 101	$ 202	$ 247	$ 249	$ 124	$ 283		$ 726	$ 903	1,384
Distributions to Series A preferred units											(122)	0	0
Distributions to general partner											(412)	(608)	(502)
Distributions to participating securities											(4)	(6)	(6)
Undistributed loss allocated to general partner											14	16	2
Other											(2)	0	0
Net income attributable to common unitholders in accordance with application of the two-class method											$ 200	$ 305	$ 878
Diluted net income per common unit (in dollars per unit)		$ 0.14	$ 0.40	$ (0.20)	$ 0.07	$ 0.24	$ 0.24	$ (0.06)	$ 0.35		$ 0.43	$ 0.77
Common Units
Basic Net Income per Common Unit
Basic weighted average common units outstanding (in units)											464.0	394.0	367.0
Basic net income/(loss) per common unit (in dollars per unit)											$ 0.43	$ 0.78	$ 2.39
Diluted Net Income per Common Unit
Basic weighted average common units outstanding (in units)											464.0	394.0	367.0
Effect of dilutive securities: Weighted average LTIP units (in units)											2.0	2.0	2.0
Diluted weighted average common units outstanding (in units)											466.0	396.0	369.0
Diluted net income per common unit (in dollars per unit)											$ 0.43	$ 0.77	$ 2.38
Simplification Agreement \| PAA GP
Related Party Transactions
General Partner Economic Ownership Interest Converted Into Non-economic Interest	2.00%
Simplification Agreement \| AAP
Related Party Transactions
Issuance of common units in connection with Simplification Transactions (in units)	244.7
Units to be issued in the future (in units)	0.8