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Stock-based Compensation - Additional Information (Detail) (Performance Units Awards)	3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Apr. 27, 2015
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance period	3 years
Award description	Generally, the recipients will receive a target number of shares if the Company’s total shareholder return is positive and, when compared to the peer group, is at the 50th percentile and two times the target if at the 75th percentile or higher.
2012
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Target number of shares	192,000pten_PerformanceAwardTargetNumberOfShares / us-gaap_AwardDateAxis = pten_YearTwentyTwelveMember / us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis = us-gaap_PerformanceSharesMember
Subsequent Event | 2012
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares issued		384,000us-gaap_StockIssuedDuringPeriodSharesOther / us-gaap_AwardDateAxis = pten_YearTwentyTwelveMember / us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis = us-gaap_PerformanceSharesMember / us-gaap_SubsequentEventTypeAxis = us-gaap_SubsequentEventMember

X

- Definition

Performance award target number of shares.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Share based compensation arrangement by share based payment award performance period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

General descriptive information regarding an arrangement under which employees and directors receive: (a) awards of equity shares, equity share options, or other equity instruments; or (b) the entity incurs liabilities to them: (1) in amounts based, at least in part, on the price of the entity's shares or other equity instruments; or (2) that require or may require settlement by issuance of the entity's shares. Such an arrangement is usually provided to employees and directors to compensate them, provide performance incentives to them, and to attract or retain their services. May also include pertinent information particular to a plan that is not elsewhere specified in the taxonomy.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 718

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (a)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6415400&loc=d3e5047-113901



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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 718

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (a)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6415400&loc=d3e5070-113901

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- Definition

Number of shares of stock issued during the period that is attributable to transactions involving issuance of stock not separately disclosed.

+ References

No definition available.

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