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Long Term Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)
 3 Months Ended 0 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Mar. 31, 2014
Sep. 27, 2012
LegalMatter
Mar. 16, 2015
Mar. 18, 2015
LegalMatter
Oct. 05, 2010
LegalMatter
Jun. 14, 2012
LegalMatter
Dec. 31, 2014
Jul. 01, 2015
Apr. 01, 2015
Dec. 24, 2012
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Assets $ 5,230,907,000us-gaap_Assets             $ 5,394,011,000us-gaap_Assets      
Letters of credit outstanding 39,800,000us-gaap_LettersOfCreditOutstandingAmount                    
Interest expense related to amortization of debt issuance costs 547,000us-gaap_AmortizationOfFinancingCosts 547,000us-gaap_AmortizationOfFinancingCosts                  
Credit Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Aggregate amount by which the revolving credit facility can be increased     100,000,000pten_LineOfCreditFacilityAdditionalBorrowingCapacity
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember		                
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity     700,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember		                
Debt maturity date     Sep. 27, 2017                
Commitment fee payable to the lenders for the unused portion of the credit facility     0.50%us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityUnusedCapacityCommitmentFeePercentage
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember		                
Credit agreement, financial covenant description The Company must not permit its debt to capitalization ratio to exceed 45%. The Credit Agreement generally defines the debt to capitalization ratio as the ratio of (a) total borrowed money indebtedness to (b) the sum of such indebtedness plus consolidated net worth, with consolidated net worth determined as of the last day of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. The Company also must not permit the interest coverage ratio as of the last day of a fiscal quarter to be less than 3.00 to 1.00. The Credit Agreement generally defines the interest coverage ratio as the ratio of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of the four prior fiscal quarters to interest charges for the same period. The Company was in compliance with these covenants at March 31, 2015                    
Number of compliance covenants     2pten_NumberOfCovenants
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= pten_CreditAgreementMember		                
Letters of credit outstanding               39,800,000us-gaap_LettersOfCreditOutstandingAmount
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember		      
Line of credit, available borrowing capacity 500,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityRemainingBorrowingCapacity
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember		                    
Credit Agreement | Minimum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Interest coverage ratio that the Company must exceed on the last day of the fiscal quarter     300.00%pten_InterestCoverageRatio
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember
/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
= us-gaap_MinimumMember		                
Credit Agreement | Maximum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt to capitalization ratio, percentage the Company must not exceed at any time     45.00%pten_ConsolidatedDebtAsPercentageOfCapitalization
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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Credit Agreement | Maximum | Subsidiaries                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Assets     1,000,000us-gaap_Assets
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/ dei_LegalEntityAxis
= us-gaap_SubsidiariesMember
/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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Credit Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin 2.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
= us-gaap_LondonInterbankOfferedRateLIBORMember		                    
Credit Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Scenario, Forecast                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin                 2.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_StatementScenarioAxis
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Credit Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Subsequent Event                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin                   2.75%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_SubsequentEventTypeAxis
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Credit Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Minimum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin     2.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
= us-gaap_MinimumMember
/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
= us-gaap_LondonInterbankOfferedRateLIBORMember		                
Credit Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Maximum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin     3.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Credit Agreement | Base Rate                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin 1.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Credit Agreement | Base Rate | Scenario, Forecast                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin                 1.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_StatementScenarioAxis
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Credit Agreement | Base Rate | Subsequent Event                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin                   1.75%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_SubsequentEventTypeAxis
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Credit Agreement | Base Rate | Minimum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin     1.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Credit Agreement | Base Rate | Maximum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Applicable margin     2.25%pten_ApplicableMarginRate
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
= us-gaap_MaximumMember
/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
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Reimbursement Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Letters of credit outstanding 39,800,000us-gaap_LettersOfCreditOutstandingAmount
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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Reimbursement Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate       2.25%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentBasisSpreadOnVariableRate1
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2015 Term Loan Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Line of credit facility, frequency of payment and payment terms The Term Loan Borrowing is payable in quarterly principal installments, together with accrued interest, on each June 30, September 30, December 31 and March 31, commencing on June 30, 2015. Each of the first four principal installments is in an amount equal to 2.5% of the Term Loan Borrowing and each successive quarterly installment, until and including June 30, 2017, is in an amount equal to 5.0% of the Term Loan Borrowing, with the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loan Borrowing due on the maturity date under the 2015 Term Loan Agreement. The maturity date under the 2015 Term Loan Agreement is September 27, 2017. Loans under the 2015 Term Loan Agreement bear interest, at the Company’s election, at the per annum rate of LIBOR rate plus 3.25% or base rate plus 2.25%.                    
Line of credit facility, frequency of payments Quarterly                    
Commencement date of principal payments         Jun. 30, 2015            
Debt maturity date         Sep. 27, 2017            
Credit agreement, financial covenant description The Company must not permit its debt to capitalization ratio to exceed 45%. The 2015 Term Loan Agreement generally defines the debt to capitalization ratio as the ratio of (a) total borrowed money indebtedness to (b) the sum of such indebtedness plus consolidated net worth, with consolidated net worth determined as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. The Company also must not permit the interest coverage ratio as of the last day of a fiscal quarter to be less than 3.00 to 1.00. The 2015 Term Loan Agreement generally defines the interest coverage ratio as the ratio of EBITDA of the four prior fiscal quarters to interest charges for the same period.                    
Number of compliance covenants         2pten_NumberOfCovenants
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Line of credit, amount outstanding         200,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCredit
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Quarterly interest payment, first payment date June 30                    
Quarterly interest payment, second payment date September 30                    
Quarterly interest payment, third payment date December 31                    
Quarterly interest payment, fourth payment date March 31                    
2015 Term Loan Agreement | Subsidiaries                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Assets         1,000,000us-gaap_Assets
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/ dei_LegalEntityAxis
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2015 Term Loan Agreement | Minimum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Interest coverage ratio that the Company must exceed on the last day of the fiscal quarter         300.00%pten_InterestCoverageRatio
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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2015 Term Loan Agreement | Maximum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt to capitalization ratio, percentage the Company must not exceed at any time         45.00%pten_ConsolidatedDebtAsPercentageOfCapitalization
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Pro forma ratio of debt to EBITDA         250.00%pten_ProFormaRatioOfDebtToEarningsBeforeInterestTaxesDepreciationAndAmortizationRatio
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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2015 Term Loan Agreement | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate 3.25%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentBasisSpreadOnVariableRate1
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= pten_TwoThousandFifteenTermLoanAgreementMember
/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
= us-gaap_LondonInterbankOfferedRateLIBORMember		                    
2015 Term Loan Agreement | Base Rate                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate 2.25%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentBasisSpreadOnVariableRate1
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_TwoThousandFifteenTermLoanAgreementMember
/ us-gaap_VariableRateAxis
= us-gaap_BaseRateMember		                    
2015 Term Loan Agreement | First Four Quarterly Installments                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Installment amounts percentage of the original principal amount         2.50%pten_PrincipalPaymentsPercentage
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/ pten_EventTimingAxis
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2015 Term Loan Agreement | Successive Quarterly Installment, Until and Including June 30, 2017                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Installment amounts percentage of the original principal amount         5.00%pten_PrincipalPaymentsPercentage
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_TwoThousandFifteenTermLoanAgreementMember
/ pten_EventTimingAxis
= pten_GroupFiveMember		            
4.97% Series A Senior Notes, Due October 5th 2020                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt maturity date           Oct. 05, 2020          
Number of compliance covenants           2pten_NumberOfCovenants
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_SeriesASeniorNotesFourPointNineSevenPercentDueOctoberFiveTwentyTwentyMember		          
Long-term debt, aggregate principal amount           300,000,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
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Debt interest rate           4.97%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateStatedPercentage
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_SeriesASeniorNotesFourPointNineSevenPercentDueOctoberFiveTwentyTwentyMember		          
Semi-annual interest payment, first payment date April 5                    
Semi-annual interest payment, second payment date October 5                    
Notes issuance date           Oct. 05, 2010          
Description of the prepayment terms Notes are prepayable at the Company’s option, in whole or in part, provided that in the case of a partial prepayment, prepayment must be in an amount not less than 5% of the aggregate principal amount of the notes then outstanding, at any time and from time to time at 100% of the principal amount prepaid, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the prepayment date, plus a “make-whole” premium as specified in the note purchase agreements. The Company must offer to prepay the notes upon the occurrence of any change of control. In addition, the Company must offer to prepay the notes upon the occurrence of certain asset dispositions if the proceeds therefrom are not timely reinvested in productive assets. If any offer to prepay is accepted, the purchase price of each prepaid note is 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the prepayment date.                    
Description of the acceptance terms If any offer to prepay is accepted, the purchase price of each prepaid note is 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the prepayment date.                    
Acceptance terms, percent of principal before accrued and unpaid interest           100.00%pten_PercentageOfRepurchasePriceToPrincipalDebtAmount
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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Note purchase agreement, financial covenant description The Company must not permit its debt to capitalization ratio to exceed 50% at any time. The note purchase agreements generally define the debt to capitalization ratio as the ratio of (a) total borrowed money indebtedness to (b) the sum of such indebtedness plus consolidated net worth, with consolidated net worth determined as of the last day of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. The Company also must not permit the interest coverage ratio as of the last day of a fiscal quarter to be less than 2.50 to 1.00. The note purchase agreements generally define the interest coverage ratio as the ratio of EBITDA for the four prior fiscal quarters to interest charges for that same period. The Company was in compliance with these covenants at March 31, 2015.                    
4.97% Series A Senior Notes, Due October 5th 2020 | Minimum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Interest coverage ratio that the Company must exceed on the last day of the fiscal quarter           250.00%pten_InterestCoverageRatio
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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Prepayment terms, percent of principal before accrued and unpaid interest and "make-whole" premium           100.00%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentRedemptionPricePercentage
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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4.97% Series A Senior Notes, Due October 5th 2020 | Maximum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt to capitalization ratio, percentage the Company must not exceed at any time           50.00%pten_ConsolidatedDebtAsPercentageOfCapitalization
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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4.27% Series B Senior Notes, Due June 14th 2022                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt maturity date             Jun. 14, 2022        
Number of compliance covenants             2pten_NumberOfCovenants
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_SeriesBSeniorNotesFourPointTwoSevenPercentDueJuneFourteenTwentyTwentyTwoMember		        
Long-term debt, aggregate principal amount             300,000,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
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Debt interest rate             4.27%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateStatedPercentage
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Semi-annual interest payment, first payment date April 5                    
Semi-annual interest payment, second payment date October 5                    
Notes issuance date             Jun. 14, 2012        
Description of the prepayment terms Notes are prepayable at the Company’s option, in whole or in part, provided that in the case of a partial prepayment, prepayment must be in an amount not less than 5% of the aggregate principal amount of the notes then outstanding, at any time and from time to time at 100% of the principal amount prepaid, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the prepayment date, plus a “make-whole” premium as specified in the note purchase agreements. The Company must offer to prepay the notes upon the occurrence of any change of control. In addition, the Company must offer to prepay the notes upon the occurrence of certain asset dispositions if the proceeds therefrom are not timely reinvested in productive assets. If any offer to prepay is accepted, the purchase price of each prepaid note is 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the prepayment date.                    
Description of the acceptance terms If any offer to prepay is accepted, the purchase price of each prepaid note is 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the prepayment date.                    
Acceptance terms, percent of principal before accrued and unpaid interest             100.00%pten_PercentageOfRepurchasePriceToPrincipalDebtAmount
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_SeriesBSeniorNotesFourPointTwoSevenPercentDueJuneFourteenTwentyTwentyTwoMember		        
Note purchase agreement, financial covenant description The Company must not permit its debt to capitalization ratio to exceed 50% at any time. The note purchase agreements generally define the debt to capitalization ratio as the ratio of (a) total borrowed money indebtedness to (b) the sum of such indebtedness plus consolidated net worth, with consolidated net worth determined as of the last day of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. The Company also must not permit the interest coverage ratio as of the last day of a fiscal quarter to be less than 2.50 to 1.00. The note purchase agreements generally define the interest coverage ratio as the ratio of EBITDA for the four prior fiscal quarters to interest charges for that same period. The Company was in compliance with these covenants at March 31, 2015.                    
4.27% Series B Senior Notes, Due June 14th 2022 | Minimum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Interest coverage ratio that the Company must exceed on the last day of the fiscal quarter             250.00%pten_InterestCoverageRatio
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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Prepayment terms, percent of principal before accrued and unpaid interest and "make-whole" premium             100.00%us-gaap_DebtInstrumentRedemptionPricePercentage
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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4.27% Series B Senior Notes, Due June 14th 2022 | Maximum                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt to capitalization ratio, percentage the Company must not exceed at any time             50.00%pten_ConsolidatedDebtAsPercentageOfCapitalization
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_SeriesBSeniorNotesFourPointTwoSevenPercentDueJuneFourteenTwentyTwentyTwoMember
/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
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Reimbursement Agreement and 2015 Term Loan Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Debt issuance costs 1,900,000us-gaap_DebtIssuanceCosts
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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Revolving Credit Facility                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Line of credit, amount outstanding 0us-gaap_LineOfCredit
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= us-gaap_RevolvingCreditFacilityMember		                    
Revolving Credit Facility | Credit Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Current aggregate borrowing capacity     500,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityCurrentBorrowingCapacity
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= us-gaap_RevolvingCreditFacilityMember
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember		                
Revolving Credit Facility | Letter of Credit | Credit Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Current aggregate borrowing capacity     150,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityCurrentBorrowingCapacity
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/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis
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Revolving Credit Facility | Swing Line Facility | Credit Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Current aggregate borrowing capacity     40,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityCurrentBorrowingCapacity
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/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
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/ us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis
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Term Loan Facility                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Line of credit, amount outstanding 80,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCredit
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
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Line of credit facility, interest rate 2.625%us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityInterestRateAtPeriodEnd
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
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Term Loan Facility | Credit Agreement                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Current aggregate borrowing capacity                     $ 100,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityCurrentBorrowingCapacity
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
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/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember
Line of credit facility, frequency of payment and payment terms The term loan facility is payable in quarterly principal installments, which commenced December 27, 2012. The installment amounts vary from 1.25% of the original principal amount for each of the first four quarterly installments, 2.50% of the original principal amount for each of the subsequent eight quarterly installments, 5.00% of the original principal amount for the subsequent four quarterly installments and 13.75% of the original principal amount for the final four quarterly installments.                    
Line of credit facility, frequency of payments Quarterly                    
Commencement date of principal payments     Dec. 27, 2012                
Term Loan Facility | Credit Agreement | First Four Quarterly Installments                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Installment amounts percentage of the original principal amount     1.25%pten_PrincipalPaymentsPercentage
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= pten_TermLoanFacilityMember
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember
/ pten_EventTimingAxis
= pten_GroupOneMember		                
Term Loan Facility | Credit Agreement | Subsequent Eight Quarterly Installments                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Installment amounts percentage of the original principal amount     2.50%pten_PrincipalPaymentsPercentage
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= pten_TermLoanFacilityMember
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember
/ pten_EventTimingAxis
= pten_GroupTwoMember		                
Term Loan Facility | Credit Agreement | Subsequent Four Quarterly Installments                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Installment amounts percentage of the original principal amount     5.00%pten_PrincipalPaymentsPercentage
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= pten_TermLoanFacilityMember
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember
/ pten_EventTimingAxis
= pten_GroupThreeMember		                
Term Loan Facility | Credit Agreement | Amount For The Final Four Quarterly Installments                      
Debt Instrument [Line Items]                      
Installment amounts percentage of the original principal amount     13.75%pten_PrincipalPaymentsPercentage
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= pten_TermLoanFacilityMember
/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis
= pten_CreditAgreementMember
/ pten_EventTimingAxis
= pten_GroupFourMember