INVESTMENTS AND DERIVATIVES Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, AUD in Millions					3 Months Ended					9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Nov. 02, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 20, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 20, 2015 AUD	Feb. 17, 2012 shares	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	May. 07, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 18, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 28, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Apr. 24, 2013 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)
Derivative [Line Items]
Other-than-temporary impairment reclassified from AOCI												$ 10,183,000	$ 0	$ 0
Investment in affiliates, equity method						$ 347,191,000						166,099,000	347,191,000
Gain (loss) on disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax						128,000	$ (258,000)	$ (5,212,000)	$ (8,513,000)			0	(13,855,000)	71,510,000
Available for sale securities						3,864,000						157,000	3,864,000	1,819,000					$ 1,958,000
Loss from equity method investments												186,157,000	1,038,000	994,000
Equity method investments, fair value disclosure						347,191,000						166,099,000	347,191,000	940,000					$ 2,072,000
GreenHunter Resources, Inc.
Derivative [Line Items]
Other-than-temporary impairment reclassified from AOCI												800,000
Loss from equity method investments												464,000	590,000	$ 730,000
Hunter Disposal LLC
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, number of shares of common stock received \| shares				1,846,722
Hunter Disposal LLC \| Green Hunter Energy
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, number of shares of preferred stock received \| shares				88,000
Consideration received, common stock value						0						0	0
Eagle Ford Hunter
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, number of shares of common stock received \| shares																		10,000,000
Consideration received, common stock value																		$ 42,300,000
Penn Virginia
Derivative [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of available-for-sales securities											$ 50,562,000	472,000
Gain (loss) on disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax											$ 8,262,000		0
New Standard Energy Limited
Derivative [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of available-for-sales securities		$ 500,000	AUD 0.7
Available-for-sale securities, gross realized gains		$ 100,000
Series C Preferred Stock \| Green Hunter Energy
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, value of preferred stock received						1,300,000						80,961	1,300,000
Series C Preferred Stock \| Hunter Disposal LLC \| Green Hunter Energy
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, cumulative preferred dividend rate on preferred stock received (as a percent)				10.00%
Common Stock \| Hunter Disposal LLC \| Green Hunter Energy
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, value of preferred stock received						$ 1,300,000						$ 200,000	$ 1,300,000
New Standard Energy Texas LLC \| Eagle Ford Shale Assets
Derivative [Line Items]
Consideration received, number of shares of common stock received \| shares																	65,650,000
Consideration received, common stock value																	$ 9,400,000
Disposal group including discontinued operation price of stock on sale date (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares																	$ 0.14
Eureka Midstream Holdings
Derivative [Line Items]
Ownership percentage by parent						48.60%						44.53%	48.60%			48.60%
Eureka Midstream Holdings \| Morgan Stanley Infrastructure (MSI)
Derivative [Line Items]
Retained interest upon deconsolidation						$ 347,292,000							$ 347,292,000			$ 347,300,000
New Standard Energy Limited
Derivative [Line Items]
Other-than-temporary impairment reclassified from AOCI					$ 9,000,000
Redstar Gold Corp
Derivative [Line Items]
Other-than-temporary impairment reclassified from AOCI										$ 400,000
Redstar Gold Corp \| Common Stock
Derivative [Line Items]
Investment owned, balance (in shares) \| shares												2,619,981
Investment in affiliates, equity method						$ 90,120						$ 75,581	$ 90,120
Senior Revolving Credit Facility \| Line of Credit \| Fourth Amended And Restated Credit Agreement, Maturing October 22, 2018
Derivative [Line Items]
Proceeds from termination of commodity derivative positions expected															$ 11,800,000
Commodity derivative \| Bank Of Montreal
Derivative [Line Items]
Proceeds from hedge, investing activities	$ 900,000

MAGNUM HUNTER RESOURCES CORP 10-K