| **Derivative Financial Instruments Additional Information (Details) MMBTU in Thousands** | 3 Months Ended |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|
||
| 2020                                                                                     |           |
| **Derivatives in Place for Anticipated Production**                                      |           |
| Derivative, Nonmonetary Notional Amount, Energy Measure | MMBTU                          | 21,200         |
| Derivative, Floor Price | $ / Unit                                                       | 2.00           |
| 2021                                                                                     |           |
| **Derivatives in Place for Anticipated Production**                                      |           |
| Derivative, Nonmonetary Notional Amount, Energy Measure | MMBTU                          | 15,600         |
| Derivative, Floor Price | $ / Unit                                                       | 2.43           |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Floor rate on a price risk derivative such as a floor or a collar. A payment or receipt is triggered if the market rate falls below the floor rate on the contract.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeFloorPrice**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**srt-types:perUnitItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**instant |
| 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_DerivativeLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Nominal energy measure used to calculate payments on a derivative instrument.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeNonmonetaryNotionalAmountEnergyMeasure**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**num:energyItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**pdce_MaturityPeriodAxis=pdce_A2020Member**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**pdce_MaturityPeriodAxis=pdce_A2021Member**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |