Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Basis of Presentation	Mar. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation Nature of Business. SandRidge Energy, Inc. is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with its principal focus on developing high-return, growth-oriented projects in the U.S. Mid-Continent and North Park Basin of Colorado. Principles of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned or majority owned subsidiaries, including its proportionate share of the Royalty Trusts. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Interim Financial Statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2017, have been derived from and should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes contained in the Company’s 2017 Form 10-K. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were also prepared in accordance with the accounting policies stated in the 2017 Form 10-K. Certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted, although the Company believes that the disclosures contained herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. In the opinion of management, the financial statements include all adjustments, which consist of normal recurring adjustments unless otherwise disclosed, necessary to fairly state the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Significant Accounting Policies. For a description of the Company’s significant accounting policies, see Note 3 of the consolidated financial statements included in the 2017 Form 10-K as well as the items noted below. Reclassifications. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period financial statements to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on the Company’s previously reported results of operations. Use of Estimates. The preparation of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The more significant areas requiring the use of assumptions, judgments and estimates include: oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (“NGL”) reserves; impairment tests of long-lived assets; depreciation, depletion and amortization; income taxes; valuation of derivative instruments; contingencies; and accrued revenue and related receivables. Although management believes these estimates are reasonable, actual results could differ significantly. Recent Accounting Pronouncements. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606),” which outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. Its objective is to increase the usefulness of information in the financial statements regarding the nature, timing and uncertainty of revenues. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date," which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 to January 1, 2018, for the Company, with early adoption permitted in 2017. The ASU must be adopted using either the retrospective transition method, which requires restating previously reported results or the cumulative effect (modified retrospective) transition method, which utilizes a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings in the period of adoption to account for prior period effects rather than restating previously reported results. The Company adopted FASB ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606),” and all the related amendments (the “new revenue standard”) on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective transition method. See Note 2 for further discussion of the adoption of the new revenue standard. The FASB issued ASU 2016-16, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory” which removes the prohibition in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 740 against the immediate recognition of current and deferred income tax effects of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory. The amendments in this ASU are effective for the Company on January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted on January 1, 2017. The ASU should be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The Company adopted the ASU on January 1, 2018. There was no impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures upon adoption. The FASB issued ASU 2017-05, “Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic: 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and the Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets,” which helps filers determine the guidance applicable for gain/loss recognition subsequent to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The amendments also clarify that the derecognition of all businesses except those related to conveyances of oil and gas rights or contracts with customers should be accounted for in accordance with the derecognition and deconsolidation guidance in Topic 810, Consolidation. The Company adopted the ASU on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective transition method. Under this transition method the Company may elect to apply this guidance retrospectively either to all contracts at the date of initial application or only to contracts that are not completed contracts at the date of initial application. The Company elected to evaluate only contracts that are not completed contracts. As there were no uncompleted contracts at January 1, 2018, there was no impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures upon adoption. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted. The FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” which requires companies to recognize the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations of all leases with a term greater than 12 months (long-term) on the balance sheet. Leases to explore for or use minerals, oil and natural gas are not impacted by this guidance. In January 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-01, “Leases (Topic 842), Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842.” This ASU permits an entity to continue to apply its current accounting policy for land easements that existed before the effective date of Topic 842. Once an entity adopts Topic 842, it would apply that Topic prospectively to all new (or modified) land easements to determine whether the arrangement contains a lease. Topic 842 requires adoption by application of a modified retrospective transition approach and is effective for the Company on January 1, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is in the process of reviewing its portfolio of leased assets and related contracts to determine the impact that adoption will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The Company is also assessing the impact of Topic 842 on its systems, processes and internal controls. The Company plans to elect certain practical expedients when implementing the new lease standard, which means the Company will not have to reassess the existence or classification of leases for contracts, including land easements, that commenced prior to adoption. The Company anticipates upon adoption to recognize assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations of its existing long-term operating leases on its consolidated balance sheets and to utilize new systems, processes and internal controls to properly identify, classify, measure and recognize new (or modified) leases after the date of adoption. The Company will complete its evaluation during 2018 and will adopt Topic 842 on January 1, 2019, using a modified retrospective approach for all comparative periods presented.