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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS AND LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLANS Table 2 (Details) - NuStar GP LLC [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2015 | Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013
Related Party Transaction [Line Items] |  |  |
Benefit plans | $ 13,215 | $ 11,385 | $ 27,741
Long-term incentive plans | $ 6,397 | $ 10,934 | $ 7,369

X
- Definition Company's share of compensation expense related to various benefit plans provided to employees of the general partner (who provide services to the company). + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | ns_RelatedPartyExpenseBenefitPlans
Namespace Prefix: | ns_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Company's share of compensation expense related to various long-term incentive plans provided to employees of the general partner (who provide services to the company). + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | ns_RelatedPartyExpenseLongTermIncentivePlans
Namespace Prefix: | ns_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- 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

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis=ns_NustarGpLlcMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |