| **Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Textual Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions** | 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|----------------|
||
| **Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]**                                            |           |           |   |   |
| Goodwill impairment                                                                        | $ 1,841        | $ 0            | $ 1,841 | $ 0 |
| Amortization expense for intangible assets included in net income                          | $ 20           | $ 25           | 42 | $ 51 |
| Minimum                                                                                    |           |           |   |   |
| **Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]**                                            |           |           |   |   |
| Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life                                                 | 3 years        |           |   |   |
| Maximum                                                                                    |           |           |   |   |
| **Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]**                                            |           |           |   |   |
| Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life                                                 | 30 years       |           |   |   |
| Customer Relationships and Trade Names                                                     |           |           |   |   |
| **Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]**                                            |           |           |   |   |
| Impairment of Intangible Assets, Finite-lived                                              |           |           | $ 101 |   |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
The aggregate expense charged against earnings to allocate the cost of intangible assets (nonphysical assets not used in production) in a systematic and rational manner to the periods expected to benefit from such assets. As a noncash expense, this element is added back to net income when calculating cash provided by or used in operations using the indirect method.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6388964&loc=d3e16225-109274Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56944662&loc=d3e3602-108585Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16323-109275
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_AmortizationOfIntangibleAssets**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Useful life of finite-lived intangible assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetUsefulLife**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:durationItemType**Balance Type:**na**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_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of loss from the write-down of an asset representing the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13854-109267Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6388280&loc=d3e13777-109266Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56944662&loc=d3e3602-108585Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (e) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
The amount of impairment loss recognized in the period resulting from the write-down of the carrying amount of a finite-lived intangible asset to fair value.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16373-109275
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_ImpairmentOfIntangibleAssetsFinitelived**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MinimumMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MaximumMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=bhi_CustomerRelationshipsandTradeNamesMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |