| **Income Taxes - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions** | 3 Months Ended |        |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|
||
| **Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]**                  |           |   |
| Tax benefit from Tax Reform Legislation and Toll Tax           | $ 145          |   |
| Tamar and Dalit Fields | Disposed by sale                      |           |   |
| **Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]**                  |           |   |
| Percentage of divestiture farmed out                           |           | 7.50%  |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Percentage Sold
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**nbl_DisposalGroupNotDiscontinuedOperationPercentageSold**Namespace Prefix:**nbl_**Data Type:**num:percentItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
TaxCutsAndJobsActOf2017IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**nbl_TaxCutsAndJobsActOf2017IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit**Namespace Prefix:**nbl_**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_OperatingLossCarryforwardsLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=nbl_TamarandDalitFieldsMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DisposalGroupClassificationAxis=us-gaap_DisposalGroupDisposedOfBySaleNotDiscontinuedOperationsMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |