Oceaneering International (OII) 10-K 20 Feb 14 2013 FY Annual report Financial data

Document_And_Entity_Informatio

Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Feb. 07, 2014	Jun. 28, 2013
Entity Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Document Type	'10-K	'	'
Amendment Flag	'false	'	'
Document Period End Date	31-Dec-13	'	'
Document Fiscal Year Focus	'2013	'	'
Document Fiscal Period Focus	'FY	'	'
Entity Registrant Name	'OCEANEERING INTERNATIONAL INC	'	'
Entity Central Index Key	'0000073756	'	'
Current Fiscal Year End Date	'--12-31	'	'
Entity Filer Category	'Large Accelerated Filer	'	'
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	'	108,197,444	'
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	'Yes	'	'
Entity Voluntary Filers	'No	'	'
Entity Current Reporting Status	'Yes	'	'
Entity Public Float	'	'	$7,771,016,000

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets

Consolidated Balance Sheets (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Current Assets:	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	$91,430	$120,549
Accounts receivable, net of allowances for doubtful accounts	768,842	666,930
Inventory	441,789	331,280
Other current assets	131,214	84,231
Total Current Assets	1,433,275	1,202,990
Property and Equipment, at cost	2,380,888	2,069,119
Less accumulated depreciation	1,191,789	1,043,987
Net Property and Equipment	1,189,099	1,025,132
Other Assets:	'	'
Goodwill	344,018	363,193
Investments in unconsolidated affiliates	37,462	42,619
Other non-current assets	124,646	134,184
Total Other Assets	506,126	539,996
Total Assets	3,128,500	2,768,118
Current Liabilities:	'	'
Accounts payable	129,632	130,489
Accrued liabilities	516,628	408,303
Income taxes payable	80,828	78,393
Total Current Liabilities	727,088	617,185
Long-term Debt	0	94,000
Other Long-term Liabilities	357,972	241,473
Commitments and Contingencies	'	'
Stockholders' Equity:	'	'
Common Stock, par value $0.25	27,709	27,709
Additional paid-in capital	222,402	212,940
Treasury stock	-75,736	-84,062
Retained earnings	1,921,642	1,641,027
Accumulated other comprehensive income	-52,577	17,846
Total Shareholders' Equity	2,043,440	1,815,460
Total Liabilities and Sharesholders' Equity	$3,128,500	$2,768,118

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets_Pa

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Accounts receivable, allowances for doubtful accounts	$4,168	$2,298
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$0.25	$0.25
Common stock, shares authorized	180,000,000	180,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	110,834,088	110,834,088
Treasury stock, shares	2,636,644	2,926,514

Consolidated_Statements_of_Com

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Net Income	$371,500	$289,017	$235,658
Other comprehensive income, net of tax:	'	'	'
Foreign currency translation adjustments	-71,282	44,775	-18,374
Pension-related adjustments	859	262	143
Other comprehensive income	-70,423	45,037	-18,231
Comprehensive Income	301,077	334,054	217,427
Accumulated Defined Benefit Plans Adjustment [Member]	'	'	'
Other comprehensive income, net of tax:	'	'	'
Pension-related adjustments	($859)	'	'

Consolidated_Statements_Of_Inc

Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Revenue	$3,287,019	$2,782,604	$2,192,663
Cost of services and products	2,521,483	2,154,746	1,683,904
Gross Margin	765,536	627,858	508,759
Selling, general and administrative expense	220,420	199,261	173,928
Income from Operations	545,116	428,597	334,831
Interest income	554	1,935	888
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized	-2,194	-4,218	-1,096
Equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	133	1,673	3,801
Other income (expense), net	-1,273	-6,065	-539
Income before Income Taxes	542,336	421,922	337,885
Provision for income taxes	170,836	132,905	102,227
Net Income	$371,500	$289,017	$235,658
Cash Dividends declared per Share	$0.84	$0.69	$0.45
Basic Earnings per Share	$3.43	$2.68	$2.18
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	108,158	108,015	108,308
Diluted Earnings per Share	$3.42	$2.66	$2.16
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	108,731	108,617	109,001

Consolidated_Statements_Of_Cas

Consolidated Statements Of Cash Flows (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:	'	'	'
Net Income	$371,500	$289,017	$235,658
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:	'	'	'
Depreciation and amortization	202,228	176,483	151,227
Deferred income tax provision	51,800	20,654	7,502
Net gain on sales of property and equipment	450	-584	-24,188
Noncash compensation	19,380	16,442	12,529
Distributions from unconsolidated affiliates greater than earnings	878	6,988	2,262
Excluding the effects of acquisitions, increase (decrease) in cash from:	'	'	'
Accounts receivable	-101,912	-94,237	-99,537
Inventory	-110,508	-76,186	-11,492
Other operating assets	-22,380	-20,278	-62
Currency translation effect on working capital	-14,667	11,318	-10,589
Accounts payable and accrued liabilites	128,297	87,453	8,968
Income taxes payable	2,435	23,559	14,484
Other operating liabilities	1,370	-1,735	1,810
Total adjustments to net income	157,371	149,877	52,914
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities	528,871	438,894	288,572
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:	'	'	'
Purchases of property and equipment	-382,531	-300,598	-235,028
Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired	-11,059	-9,260	-291,617
Distributions of capital from unconsolidated affiliates	4,279	0	0
Dispositions of property and equipment and equity investment	11,666	3,814	43,874
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities	-377,645	-306,044	-482,771
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:	'	'	'
Net Proceeds (payments) from revolving credit facility, including new loan costs	-93,739	-27,045	120,000
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation	4,279	2,475	1,320
Cash dividends	-90,885	-74,515	-48,707
Purchases of treasury stock	0	-19,358	-17,491
Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities	-180,345	-118,443	55,122
Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents	-29,119	14,407	-139,077
Cash and Cash Equivalents-Beginning of Period	120,549	106,142	245,219
Cash and Cash Equivalents-End of Period	$91,430	$120,549	$106,142

Consolidated_Statements_of_Sha

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity (USD $)	Total	Common Stock Issued [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Accumulated Translation Adjustment [Member]	Accumulated Defined Benefit Plans Adjustment [Member]
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Balance at Dec. 31, 2010	$1,390,215	$27,709	$193,277	($61,385)	$1,239,574	($5,263)	($3,697)
Balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2010	'	110,834	'	'	'	'	'
Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Net Income	235,658	'	'	'	'	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Foreign Currency Transaction and Translation Adjustment, Net of Tax	-18,374	'	'	'	'	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income	-18,231	'	'	'	'	-18,374	143
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Adjustment, Net of Tax	-143	'	'	'	'	'	'
Restricted stock unit activity	15,199	'	9,532	5,667	'	'	'
Restricted stock activity	0	'	-1,509	1,509	'	'	'
Tax benefits from stock plans	1,319	'	1,319	0	'	'	'
Cash dividends	-48,707	'	'	'	-48,707	'	'
Treasury stock purchases	-17,491	'	'	-17,491	'	'	'
Balance at Dec. 31, 2011	1,557,962	27,709	202,619	-71,700	1,426,525	-23,637	-3,554
Balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2011	'	110,834	'	'	'	'	'
Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Net Income	289,017	'	'	'	289,017	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Foreign Currency Transaction and Translation Adjustment, Net of Tax	44,775	'	'	'	'	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income	45,037	'	'	'	'	44,775	262
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Adjustment, Net of Tax	-262	'	'	'	'	'	'
Restricted stock unit activity	14,842	'	8,985	5,857	'	'	'
Restricted stock activity	0	'	-1,139	1,139	'	'	'
Tax benefits from stock plans	2,475	'	2,475	'	'	'	'
Cash dividends	-74,515	'	'	'	-74,515	'	'
Treasury stock purchases	-19,358	'	'	-19,358	'	'	'
Balance at Dec. 31, 2012	1,815,460	27,709	212,940	-84,062	1,641,027	21,138	-3,292
Balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2012	'	110,834	'	'	'	'	'
Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Net Income	371,500	'	'	'	'	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Foreign Currency Transaction and Translation Adjustment, Net of Tax	-71,282	'	'	'	'	-71,282	'
Other Comprehensive Income	-70,423	'	'	'	'	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans, Adjustment, Net of Tax	-859	'	'	'	'	'	859
Restricted stock unit activity	13,509	'	6,447	7,062	'	'	'
Restricted stock activity	0	'	-1,264	1,264	'	'	'
Tax benefits from stock plans	4,279	'	4,279	'	'	'	'
Cash dividends	-90,885	'	'	'	-90,885	'	'
Balance at Dec. 31, 2013	$2,043,440	$27,709	$222,402	($75,736)	$1,921,642	($50,144)	($2,433)
Balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2013	'	110,834	'	'	'	'	'

Consolidated_Statements_of_Sha1

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity (Parenthetical)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Treasury stock, shares	0	400,000	500,000

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Summary Of Major Accounting Policies	'
	SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACCOUNTING POLICIES
	Principles of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Oceaneering International, Inc. and our 50% or more owned and controlled subsidiaries. We also consolidate entities that are determined to be variable interest entities if we determine that we are the primary beneficiary; otherwise, we account for those entities using the equity method of accounting. We use the equity method to account for our investments in unconsolidated affiliated companies of which we own an equity interest of between 20% and 50% and as to which we have significant influence, but not control, over operations. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
	Repurchase Plan. In February 2010, our Board of Directors approved a plan to repurchase up to 12,000,000 shares of our common stock. Through December 31, 2013 under this plan, we repurchased 3,100,000 shares of our common stock for $86 million.
	Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires that our management make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
	Reclassifications. Certain amounts from prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation.
	Cash and Cash Equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include demand deposits and highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of the investment.
	Accounts Receivable – Allowances for Doubtful Accounts. We determine the need for allowances for doubtful accounts using the specific identification method. We do not generally require collateral from our customers.
	Inventory. Inventory is valued at lower of cost or market. We determine cost using the weighted-average method.
	Property and Equipment. We provide for depreciation of property and equipment on the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of eight years for ROVs, three to 20 years for marine services equipment (such as vessels and diving equipment), and three to 25 years for buildings, improvements and other equipment.
	We charge the costs of repair and maintenance of property and equipment to operations as incurred, while we capitalize the costs of improvements that extend asset lives or functionality.
	We capitalize interest on assets where the construction period is anticipated to be more than three months. We did not capitalize any interest in 2013, 2012 or 2011. We do not allocate general administrative costs to capital projects. Upon the disposition of property and equipment, the related cost and accumulated depreciation accounts are relieved and any resulting gain or loss is included as an adjustment to cost of services and products.
	Our management periodically, and upon the occurrence of a triggering event, reviews the realizability of long-lived assets, excluding goodwill, which are held and used by us, to determine whether any events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. For long-lived assets to be held and used, we base our evaluation on impairment indicators such as the nature of the assets, the future economic benefit of the assets, any historical or future profitability measurements and other external market conditions or factors that may be present. If such impairment indicators are present or other factors exist that indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable, we determine whether an impairment has occurred through the use of an undiscounted cash flows analysis of the asset at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows exist. If an impairment has occurred, we recognize a loss for the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the asset. For assets held for sale or disposal, the fair value of the asset is measured using fair market value less cost to sell. Assets are classified as held-for-sale when we have a plan for disposal of certain assets and those assets meet the held for sale criteria.
	Business Acquisitions. We account for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting, with the acquisition price being allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition.
	The following table presents the cost (net of cash acquired) and the amounts of associated goodwill, other intangible assets, and other assets net of liabilities assumed for the business acquisitions we made in 2011:
	(in thousands)		Cost			Goodwill			Other Intangible Assets		Other, net
	Norse Cutting and Abandonment AS		$	50,296		$	20,283		$	13,802	$	16,211
	AGR Field Operations Holdings AS		220,011			165,218			41,387		13,406
	Other		21,310			10,836			5,360		5,114
	Total Business Acquisitions		$	291,617		$	196,337		$	60,549	$	34,731
	In March 2011, we purchased Norse Cutting and Abandonment AS ("NCA"), a Norwegian oilfield technology company that specializes in providing subsea tooling services used in the plugging, abandonment and decommissioning of offshore oil and gas production platforms and subsea wellheads. In addition, NCA performs specialized maintenance and repair services on production platforms in the North Sea. NCA's business is split approximately evenly between the North Sea and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and the business is in our Subsea Products segment. The acquisition included a small, non-strategic business operation we intended to sell when we purchased NCA. During 2011, we sold that operation, making the net acquisition price of the retained NCA operations $50 million. We have accounted for this net acquisition by allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. Our goodwill, all nondeductible for income tax purposes, associated with the acquisition was $20 million, and other intangible assets were $14 million. The results of operations of NCA are included in our consolidated statements of income from the date of acquisition.
	In December 2011, we purchased AGR Field Operations Holdings AS and subsidiaries (collectively, "AGR FO"), which we believe is Norway's largest asset integrity management service provider on offshore production platforms, onshore facilities, and pipelines. AGR FO employs subsea technology to perform internal and external inspections of subsea hardware. AGR FO also has a substantial operating presence in Australia, where it operates and maintains offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities for customers and provides subsea engineering services and operates an offshore logistics supply base. We incurred, and charged to expense, approximately $2 million of transaction costs associated with this acquisition.
	We have accounted for this acquisition by allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. Our goodwill, all nondeductible for income tax purposes, associated with the acquisition was $165 million, and other intangible assets were $41 million. The results of operations of AGR FO are included in our consolidated statements of income from the date of acquisition. Generally, AGR FO's Norwegian assets and operations are in our Asset Integrity segment and its Australian assets and operations are in our Subsea Projects segment.
	We also made several smaller acquisitions during the periods presented, none of which were material.
	Goodwill and Intangible Assets. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an update regarding goodwill impairment testing. Under the update, an entity has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, an entity determines it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, performing the two-step impairment test is unnecessary. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to perform the first step of the two-step impairment test. We began applying this update in 2011. We qualitatively tested the goodwill attributable to each of our reporting units for impairment as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 and concluded that there was no impairment. The only changes in our reporting units' goodwill during the periods presented are from business acquisitions, as discussed above, and currency exchange rate changes. For more information regarding goodwill by business segment, see Note 7.
	Intangible assets, primarily acquired in connection with business combinations, include trade names, intellectual property and customer relationships and are being amortized with a weighted average remaining life of approximately 12 years.
	Revenue Recognition. We recognize our revenue according to the type of contract involved. On a daily basis, we recognize revenue under contracts that provide for specific time, material and equipment charges, which we bill periodically, ranging from weekly to monthly.
	We account for significant fixed-price contracts, which we enter into mainly in our Subsea Products segment, and to a lesser extent in our Subsea Projects and Advanced Technologies segments, using the percentage-of-completion method. In 2013, we accounted for 12% of our revenue using the percentage-of-completion method. In determining whether a contract should be accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method, we consider whether:
	•	the customer provides specifications for the construction of facilities or production of goods or for the provision of related services;
	•	we can reasonably estimate our progress towards completion and our costs;
	•	the contract includes provisions as to the enforceable rights regarding the goods or services to be provided, consideration to be received and the manner and terms of payment;
	•	the customer can be expected to satisfy its obligations under the contract; and
	•	we can be expected to perform our contractual obligations.
	Under the percentage-of-completion method, we generally recognize estimated contract revenue based on costs incurred to date as a percentage of total estimated costs. Changes in the expected cost of materials and labor, productivity, scheduling and other factors affect the total estimated costs. Additionally, external factors, including weather or other factors outside of our control, also affect the progress and estimated cost of a project's completion and, therefore, the timing of income and revenue recognition. We routinely review estimates related to our contracts and reflect revisions to profitability in earnings immediately. If a current estimate of total contract cost indicates an ultimate loss on a contract, we recognize the projected loss in full when we determine it. Although we are continually striving to accurately estimate our contract costs and profitability, adjustments to overall contract costs could be significant in future periods.
	We recognize the remainder of our revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, price is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably assured.
	Revenue in Excess of Amounts Billed is classified as accounts receivable and relates to recoverable costs and accrued profits on contracts in progress. Billings in Excess of Revenue Recognized on uncompleted contracts are classified in accrued liabilities.
	Revenue in Excess of Amounts Billed on uncompleted fixed-price contracts accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method is summarized as follows:
			December 31,
	(in thousands)		2013			2012
	Revenue recognized		$	199,654		$	181,286
	Less: Billings to customers		(168,215		)	(156,852		)
	Revenue in excess of amounts billed		$	31,439		$	24,434
	Billings in Excess of Revenue Recognized on uncompleted fixed-price contracts accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method are summarized as follows:
			December 31,
	(in thousands)		2013			2012
	Amounts billed to customers		$	200,909		$	108,244
	Less: Revenue recognized		(86,264		)	(55,803		)
	Billings in excess of revenue recognized		$	114,645		$	52,441
	Stock-Based Compensation. We recognize all share-based payments to directors, officers and employees over their vesting periods in the income statement based on their estimated fair values. For more information on our employee benefit plans, see Note 8.
	Income Taxes. We provide income taxes at appropriate tax rates in accordance with our interpretation of the respective tax laws and regulations after review and consultation with our internal tax department, tax advisors and, in some cases, legal counsel in various jurisdictions. We provide for deferred income taxes for differences between carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial and tax reporting purposes. We provide for deferred U.S. income taxes on foreign income only to the extent such income is not to be indefinitely reinvested in foreign entities. We provide a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the asset will not be realized.
	We recognize the benefit for a tax position if the benefit is more likely than not to be sustainable upon audit by the applicable taxing authority. If this threshold is met, the tax benefit is then measured and recognized at the largest amount that we believe is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. We account for any applicable interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as a component of our provision for income taxes on our financial statements.
	Foreign Currency Translation. The functional currency for several of our foreign subsidiaries is the applicable local currency. Results of operations for foreign subsidiaries with functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates during the period. Assets and liabilities of these foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date, and the resulting translation adjustments are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income as a component of shareholders' equity. All foreign currency transaction gains and losses are recognized currently in the Consolidated Statements of Income. We recorded $0.1 million, $(5.4) million and
	$(0.4) million of foreign currency transaction gains (losses) in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and those amounts are included as a component of Other income (expense), net.
	Earnings Per Share. For each of the years 2013, 2012 and 2011, the only difference between the our annual calculated weighted average basic and diluted number of shares outstanding is the effect of outstanding restricted stock units.
	Financial Instruments. We recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities in the balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. Subsequent changes in fair value are reflected in current earnings or other comprehensive income, depending on whether a derivative instrument is designated as part of a hedge relationship and, if it is, the type of hedge relationship. During the three-year period ended December 31, 2013, we had no derivative instruments in effect.
	New Accounting Standard. In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an update to improve the reporting of amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income. The update amends the presentation of changes in accumulated other comprehensive income and requires an entity to report the change of each component of other comprehensive income, including amounts reclassified out of accumulated comprehensive income into operating income, either on the face of the income statement or as a separate disclosure in the notes. We adopted this update on January 1, 2013, as required. The provisions of this update have not had a material effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Selected_Balance_Sheet_Informa

Selected Balance Sheet Information	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Equity Method Investment, Summarized Financial Information [Abstract]	'
Selected Balance Sheet Accounts	'
	SELECTED BALANCE SHEET INFORMATION
	The following is information regarding selected balance sheet accounts:
			December 31,
	(in thousands)		2013		2012
	Inventory:
		Remotely operated vehicle parts and components	$	190,403	$	174,612
		Other inventory, primarily raw materials	251,386		156,668
		Total	$	441,789	$	331,280
	Other Current Assets:
		Deferred income taxes	$	61,589	$	22,604
		Prepaid expenses	69,625		61,627
		Total	$	131,214	$	84,231
	Other Non-Current Assets:
		Intangible assets, net	$	68,522	$	78,252
		Cash surrender value of life insurance policies	52,862		42,841
		Other	3,262		13,091
		Total	$	124,646	$	134,184
	Investments in unconsolidated affiliates:
		Medusa Spar LLC	$	37,376	$	42,540
		Other	86		79
			$	37,462	$	42,619
	Accrued Liabilities:
		Payroll and related costs	$	218,766	$	218,609
		Accrued job costs	72,117		75,037
		Deferred revenue, including billings in excess of revenue recognized	150,246		73,465
		Other	75,499		41,192
		Total	$	516,628	$	408,303
	Other Long-Term Liabilities:
		Deferred income taxes	$	260,807	$	178,100
		Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan	45,144		35,772
		Accrued post-employment benefit obligations	10,528		12,942
		Other	41,493		14,659
		Total	$	357,972	$	241,473
	In 2003, we purchased a 50% equity interest in Medusa Spar LLC for $43.7 million. Medusa Spar LLC owns a 75% interest in a production spar platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Medusa Spar LLC's revenue is derived from processing oil and gas production for a fee based on the volumes processed through the platform (throughput). We account for our investment in Medusa Spar LLC under the equity method of accounting. Our 50% share of the underlying equity of the net assets of Medusa Spar LLC is approximately equal to its carrying value.

Income_Taxes

Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Abstract]	'
Income Taxes	'
	INCOME TAXES
	Our provisions for income taxes and our cash taxes paid are as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Current:
	Domestic	$	45,468			$	4,039			$	13,169
	Foreign	73,568				108,212				81,556
	Total current	119,036				112,251				94,725
	Deferred:
	Domestic	56,115				26,170				12,144
	Foreign	(4,315		)		(5,516		)		(4,642		)
	Total deferred	51,800				20,654				7,502
	Total provision for income taxes	$	170,836			$	132,905			$	102,227
	Cash taxes paid	$	113,760			$	92,422			$	72,825
	The components of income before income taxes are as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Domestic	$	68,066			$	53,240			$	41,831
	Foreign	474,270				368,682				296,054
	Income before income taxes	$	542,336			$	421,922			$	337,885
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, our worldwide deferred tax assets, liabilities and net deferred tax liabilities were as follows:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012
	Deferred tax assets:
	Deferred compensation	$	48,401			$	42,296
	Deferred income	30,101				10,251
	Accrued expenses	8,441				7,676
	Other	11,921				12,613
	Gross deferred tax assets	98,864				72,836
	Valuation allowance	—				—
	Total deferred tax assets	$	98,864			$	72,836
	Deferred tax liabilities:
	Property and equipment	$	129,441			$	106,237
	Unremitted foreign earnings	157,091				91,164
	Basis difference in equity investments	10,843				13,860
	Other	707				17,071
	Total deferred tax liabilities	$	298,082			$	228,332
	Net deferred income tax liability	$	199,218			$	155,496
	Our net deferred tax liability is reflected within our balance sheet as follows:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012
	Deferred tax liabilities	$	260,807			$	178,100
	Current deferred tax assets	(61,589		)		(22,604		)
	Net deferred income tax liability	$	199,218			$	155,496
	We believe it is more likely than not that all our deferred tax assets are realizable. Reconciliations between the actual provision for income taxes on continuing operations and that computed by applying the United States statutory rate to income before income taxes were as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
		2013			2012			2011
	United States statutory rate	35	%		35	%		35	%
	State and local taxes	0.2			0.1			0.2
	Foreign tax rate differential	(3.7	)		(2.9	)		(3.3	)
	Amended returns filed	—			—			(1.4	)
	Other items, net	—			(0.7	)		(0.2	)
	Total effective tax rate	31.5	%		31.5	%		30.3	%
	We consider $431 million of unremitted earnings of our foreign subsidiaries to be indefinitely reinvested. It is not practical for us to compute the amount of additional U.S. tax that would be due on this amount. We have provided deferred income taxes on the foreign earnings we expect to repatriate.
	We recognize the benefit for a tax position if the benefit is more likely than not to be sustainable upon audit by the applicable taxing authority. If this threshold is met, the tax benefit is then measured and recognized at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.
	We account for any applicable interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as a component of our provision for income taxes on our financial statements. We increased/(decreased) income tax expense by $1.7 million, $(2.7) million and
	$0.4 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, for penalties and interest on uncertain tax positions, which brought our total liabilities for penalties and interest on uncertain tax positions to $3.3 million and $1.7 million on our balance sheets at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Including associated foreign tax credits and penalties and interest, we have accrued a net total of $8.6 million in the caption "other long-term liabilities" on our balance sheet for unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2013. All additions or reductions to those liabilities affect our effective income tax rate in the periods of change.
	A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, not including associated foreign tax credits and penalties and interest, is as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Beginning of year	$	5,140			$	10,104			$	9,991
	Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	100				244				947
	Reductions for expiration of statutes of limitations	(1,225		)		(225		)		(834		)
Additions based on tax positions related to prior years	3,490				3,335				—
Reductions based on tax positions related to prior years	(337		)		(8,193		)		—
Settlements	—				(125		)		—
Balance at end of year	$	7,168			$	5,140			$	10,104
We do not believe that the total of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease in the next 12 months.
We file a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return for Oceaneering International, Inc. and our domestic subsidiaries. We conduct our international operations in a number of locations that have varying laws and regulations with regard to income and other taxes, some of which are subject to interpretation. Our management believes that adequate provisions have been made for all taxes that will ultimately be payable, although final determination of tax liabilities may differ from our estimates.
Our tax returns are subject to audit by taxing authorities in multiple jurisdictions. These audits often take years to complete and settle. The following lists the earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities where we have significant operations:
Jurisdiction	Periods
United States	2010
United Kingdom	2010
Norway	2003
Angola	2008
Nigeria	2007
Brazil	2008
Australia	2009
Canada	2009

Selected_Income_Statement_Info

Selected Income Statement Information Selected Income Statement Information (Notes)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Selected Income Statement Information [Abstract]	'
Selected Income Statement Information [Text Block]	'
	SELECTED INCOME STATEMENT INFORMATION
	The following schedule shows our revenue, costs and gross margins by services and products:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Revenue:
	Services	$	2,174,739		$	1,887,957		$	1,369,614
	Products	1,112,280			894,647			823,049
	Total revenue	3,287,019			2,782,604			2,192,663
	Cost of Services and Products:
	Services	1,624,483			1,418,511			999,396
	Products	788,109			642,199			603,289
	Unallocated expenses	108,891			94,036			81,219
	Total cost of services and products	2,521,483			2,154,746			1,683,904
	Gross margin:
	Services	550,256			469,446			370,218
	Products	324,171			252,448			219,760
	Unallocated expenses	(108,891		)	(94,036		)	(81,219		)
	Total gross margin	$	765,536		$	627,858		$	508,759

Debt

Debt	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Debt	'
	DEBT
	Long-term Debt consisted of the following:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013		2012
	Revolving credit facility	$	—	$	94,000
	Long-term Debt	$	—	$	94,000
	As of December 31, 2013, we had a $300 million revolving credit facility with a group of banks under an agreement (the "Credit Agreement") that is scheduled to expire on January 6, 2017. Subject to certain conditions, the aggregate commitments under the facility may be increased by up to $200 million by obtaining additional commitments from existing and/or new lenders. Borrowings under the facility may be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. We pay a commitment fee ranging from 0.175% to 0.35% on the unused portion of the facility, depending on our debt-to-capitalization ratio. The commitment fees are included as interest expense in our consolidated financial statements. Revolving borrowings under the facility bear interest at an adjusted base rate or the Eurodollar Rate (as defined in the agreement), at our option, plus an applicable margin. Depending on our debt to capitalization ratio, the applicable margin varies (1) in the case of adjusted base rate advances, from 0.125% to 0.750% and (2) in the case of eurodollar advances, from 1.125% to 1.750%. The adjusted base rate is the greater of (1) the per annum rate established by the administrative agent as its prime rate, (2) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and (3) the one-month Eurodollar Rate plus 1%. At December 31, 2013, we had no borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement and $300 million available for borrowing.
	The Credit Agreement contains various covenants that we believe are customary for agreements of this nature, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the ability of each of our restricted subsidiaries to incur unsecured debt, as well as restrictions on our ability and the ability of each of our restricted subsidiaries to incur secured debt, grant liens, make certain investments, make distributions, merge or consolidate, sell assets, enter into transactions with affiliates and enter into certain restrictive agreements. We are also subject to an interest coverage ratio and a debt to capitalization ratio. The Credit Agreement includes customary events and consequences of default.
	We made cash interest payments of $2.1 million, $4.3 million and $1.1 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Commitments_And_Contingencies

Commitments And Contingencies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Commitments And Contingencies	'
	6	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
	Lease Commitments
	At December 31, 2013, we occupied several facilities under noncancellable operating leases expiring at various dates through 2025. Future minimum rentals under all of our operating leases, including vessel rentals, are as follows:
	(in thousands)
	2014		$	106,474
	2015		101,543
	2016		89,686
	2017		29,255
	2018		12,099
	Thereafter		32,689
	Total Lease Commitments		$	371,746
	Rental expense, which includes hire of vessels, specialized equipment and real estate rental, was approximately $191 million, $107 million and $73 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
	Insurance
	We self-insure for workers' compensation, maritime employer's liability and comprehensive general liability claims to levels we consider financially prudent, and beyond the self-insurance level of exposure, we carry insurance, which can be by occurrence or in the aggregate. We determine the level of accruals for claims exposure by reviewing our historical experience and current year claim activity. We do not record accruals on a present-value basis. We review larger claims with insurance adjusters and establish specific reserves for known liabilities. We establish an additional reserve for incidents incurred but not reported to us for each year using our estimates and based on prior experience. We believe we have established adequate accruals for uninsured expected liabilities arising from those obligations. However, it is possible that future earnings could be affected by changes in our estimates relating to these matters.
	Litigation
	Various actions and claims are pending against us, most of which are covered by insurance. Although we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of these matters, we believe the ultimate liability, if any, that may result from these actions and claims will not materially affect our results of operations, cash flow or financial position.
	Letters of Credit
	We had $45 million and $42 million in letters of credit outstanding as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, as guarantees in force for self-insurance requirements and various performance and bid bonds, which are usually for the duration of the applicable contract.
	Financial Instruments and Risk Concentration
	In the normal course of business, we manage risks associated with foreign exchange rates and interest rates through a variety of strategies, including the use of hedging transactions. As a matter of policy, we do not use derivative instruments unless there is an underlying exposure.
	Other financial instruments that potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk are principally cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents approximates its fair value due to the short maturity of those instruments. Accounts receivable are generated from a broad group of customers, primarily from within the energy industry, which is our major source of revenue. Due to their short-term nature, carrying values of our accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate fair market value. The carrying values of borrowings under the Credit Agreement approximate their fair value because the short-term durations of the associated interest rate periods reflect market changes to interest rates. Our borrowings under the Credit Agreement are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy (inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term for the assets or liabilities).
	In 2013, we experienced delays in payment from OGX Petróleo e Gás S.A. ("OGX"), which is a customer in Brazil. The parent company of OGX missed making an interest payment on its bonds and, on October 30, 2013, OGX and its parent filed for a restructuring process under Brazilian bankruptcy law, which grants the filer judicial protection from creditors while a restructuring plan is developed for approval. As of December 31, 2013, we had accounts receivable due from OGX of approximately $4.1 million, and in the fourth quarter of 2013 we recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts of $3.3 million, which was charged as a selling, general and administrative expense in our ROV segment. At this time, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this situation and whether or to what extent we will collect our accounts receivable from OGX.

Operations_by_Business_Segment

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting, Measurement Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Business Segment Information	'
	OPERATIONS BY BUSINESS SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC AREA
	Business Segment Information
	We are a global oilfield provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deepwater applications. Through the use of our applied technology expertise, we also serve the defense and aerospace industries. Our Oilfield business consists of Remotely Operated Vehicles ("ROVs"), Subsea Products, Subsea Projects and Asset Integrity. Our ROV segment provides submersible vehicles operated from the surface to support offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production activities. Our Subsea Products segment supplies a variety of specialty subsea hardware. Our Subsea Projects segment provides multiservice vessels, oilfield diving and support vessel operations, which are used principally in inspection, maintenance and repair and installation activities, and a mobile offshore production system, through a 50% interest in an entity that holds a 75% interest in the system. With the acquisition we made in December 2011, we also operate and maintain offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities, provide subsea engineering services, and operate an offshore logistics supply base in Australia. Our Asset Integrity segment provides asset integrity management and assessment services and nondestructive testing and inspection. Our Advanced Technologies business provides project management, engineering services and equipment for applications in non-oilfield markets. Unallocated Expenses are those not associated with a specific business segment. These consist of expenses related to our incentive and deferred compensation plans, including restricted stock and bonuses, as well as other general expenses, including corporate administrative expenses.
	There are no differences in the basis of segmentation or in the basis of measurement of segment profit or loss in the year ended December 31, 2013 from those used in our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.
	The table that follows presents Revenue, Income from Operations, Depreciation and Amortization Expense and Equity Earnings of Unconsolidated Affiliates by business segment:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Revenue
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	981,728		$	853,520		$	755,033
	Subsea Products	1,027,792			829,034			770,212
	Subsea Projects	509,440			379,571			167,477
	Asset Integrity	481,919			435,381			266,577
	Total Oilfield	3,000,879			2,497,506			1,959,299
	Advanced Technologies	286,140			285,098			233,364
	Total	$	3,287,019		$	2,782,604		$	2,192,663
	Income from Operations
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	281,973		$	248,972		$	224,705
	Subsea Products	231,050			170,959			142,184
	Subsea Projects	93,865			63,461			32,662
	Asset Integrity	55,243			45,196			30,560
	Total Oilfield	662,131			528,588			430,111
	Advanced Technologies	24,954			21,182			16,661
	Unallocated Expenses	(141,969		)	(121,173		)	(111,941		)
	Total	$	545,116		$	428,597		$	334,831
	Depreciation and Amortization Expense
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	128,310		$	108,933		$	100,089
	Subsea Products	39,964			36,638			31,299
	Subsea Projects	15,331			13,340			8,024
	Asset Integrity	12,401			11,808			5,689
	Total Oilfield	196,006			170,719			145,101
	Advanced Technologies	2,682			2,677			3,134
	Unallocated Expenses	3,540			3,087			2,992
	Total	$	202,228		$	176,483		$	151,227
	Equity Earnings of Unconsolidated Affiliates
	Subsea Projects	$	133		$	1,673		$	3,801
	Total	$	133		$	1,673		$	3,801
	We determine income from operations for each business segment before interest income or expense, other income (expense) and provision for income taxes. We do not consider an allocation of these items to be practical.
	During 2011, we sold the Ocean Legend, a mobile offshore production system. The sale resulted in a gain of $19.6 million, which we recognized as a reduction of the costs of services and products in our Subsea Projects segment.
	During 2013 and 2012, revenue from one customer, BP plc and subsidiaries in our oilfield business segments, accounted for 18% and 13% of our total consolidated revenue, respectively. No individual customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated revenue during 2011.
	The following table presents Assets, Property and Equipment and Goodwill by business segment as of the dates indicated:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Assets
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	1,117,920		$	1,017,772
	Subsea Products	942,607			727,703
	Subsea Projects	382,782			316,353
	Asset Integrity	381,392			404,137
	Total Oilfield	2,824,701			2,465,965
	Advanced Technologies	67,328			73,908
	Corporate and Other	236,471			228,245
	Total	$	3,128,500		$	2,768,118
	Property and Equipment, net
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	681,027		$	597,770
	Subsea Products	289,015			213,536
	Subsea Projects	163,210			157,755
	Asset Integrity	34,223			33,503
	Total Oilfield	1,167,475			1,002,564
	Advanced Technologies	12,332			9,194
Corporate and Other	9,292			13,374
Total	$	1,189,099		$	1,025,132
Goodwill
Oilfield
Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	26,761		$	27,428
Subsea Products	113,066			120,332
Asset Integrity	183,777			204,979
Total Oilfield	323,604			352,739
Advanced Technologies	20,414			10,454
Total	$	344,018		$	363,193
All assets specifically identified with a particular business segment have been segregated. Cash and cash equivalents, certain other current assets, certain investments and other assets have not been allocated to particular business segments and are included in Corporate and Other.
The following table presents Capital Expenditures, including business acquisitions, by business segment for the periods indicated:
	Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
Capital Expenditures
Oilfield
Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	225,885		$	198,323		$	135,770
Subsea Products	102,653			68,052			100,824
Subsea Projects	40,833			15,890			64,803
Asset Integrity	8,327			18,560			212,951
Total Oilfield	377,698			300,825			514,348
Advanced Technologies	13,175			2,953			5,757
Corporate and Other	2,717			6,080			6,540
Total	$	393,590		$	309,858		$	526,645
Geographic Operating Areas
The following table summarizes certain financial data by geographic area:
	Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
Revenue
Foreign:
Africa	$	696,202		$	505,541		$	316,051
Norway	461,915			461,863			310,891
United Kingdom	383,397			334,319			256,565
Asia and Australia	335,129			290,821			217,094
Brazil	213,282			164,660			155,532
Other	90,456			70,172			61,916
Total Foreign	2,180,381			1,827,376			1,318,049
United States	1,106,638			955,228			874,614
Total	$	3,287,019		$	2,782,604		$	2,192,663
Long-Lived Assets
Foreign:
Norway	$	429,603		$	474,408		$	436,043
Africa	186,865			141,927			120,732
United Kingdom	99,250			85,434			65,830
Asia and Australia	83,885			65,012			72,518
Brazil	112,840			113,829			99,709
Other	38,516			34,105			30,633
Total Foreign	950,959			914,715			825,465
United States	691,404			607,572			552,639
Total	$	1,642,363		$	1,522,287		$	1,378,104
Revenue is based on location where services are performed and products are manufactured.

Employee_Benefit_Plans_and_Sha

Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan [Abstract]	'
Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan	'
		EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
	Retirement Investment Plans
	We have several employee retirement investment plans that, taken together, cover most of our full time employees. The Oceaneering Retirement Investment Plan is a 401(k) plan in which U.S. employees may participate by deferring a portion of their gross monthly salary and directing us to contribute the deferred amount to the plan. We match a portion of the employees' deferred compensation. Our contributions to the 401(k) plan were $18.4 million, $16.0 million and $14.5 million for the plan years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. In 2013, we amended the plan to give plan participants the option to be paid directly, or through the plan within 90 days of the close of the plan year, for dividends of Oceaneering International, Inc. stock that the plan participants held within the plan. This change allowed us to realize a tax benefit from tax deductions in excess of financial statement expense of $0.9 million in 2013.
	We also make matching contributions to other foreign employee savings plans similar in nature to a 401(k) plan. In 2013, 2012 and 2011, these contributions, principally related to plans associated with U.K. and Norwegian subsidiaries, were $17.4 million, $11.6 million and $9.6 million, respectively.
	The Oceaneering International, Inc. Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan covers selected key management employees and executives, as approved by the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors (the "Compensation Committee"). Under this plan, we accrue an amount determined as a percentage of the participant's gross monthly salary and the amounts accrued are treated as if they are invested in one or more investment vehicles pursuant to this plan. Expenses related to this plan during 2013, 2012 and 2011 were $3.4 million, $2.8 million and $3.4 million, respectively.
	We have defined benefit plans covering some of our employees in the U.K. and Norway. There are no further benefits accruing under the U.K. plan, and the Norway plan is closed to new participants. The projected benefit obligations for both plans were $30 million and $29 million, at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and the fair values of the plan assets (using Level 2 inputs) for both plans were $26 million and $24 million at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
	Incentive Plans
	Under our 2010 Incentive Plan (the "Incentive Plan"), shares of our common stock are made available for awards to employees and nonemployee members of our Board of Directors.
	The Incentive Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee; however, the full Board of Directors makes determinations regarding awards to nonemployee directors under the Incentive Plan. The Compensation Committee or our Board of Directors, as applicable, determines the type or types of award(s) to be made to each participant and sets forth in the related award agreement the terms, conditions and limitations applicable to each award. Stock options, stock appreciation rights and stock and cash awards may be made under the Incentive Plan. There are no options outstanding under the Incentive Plan. We have not granted any stock options since 2005 and the Compensation Committee has expressed its intention to refrain from using stock options as a component of employee compensation for our executive officers and other employees for the foreseeable future. Additionally, the Board of Directors has expressed its intention to refrain from using stock options as a component of nonemployee director compensation for the foreseeable future.
	In 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Compensation Committee granted awards of performance units under the Incentive Plan and a prior plan to certain of our key executives and employees, and our Board of Directors granted performance units under the Incentive Plan and a prior plan to our Chairman of the Board of Directors. The performance units awarded are scheduled to vest in full on the third anniversary of the award date, or pro rata over three years if the participant meets certain age and years of service requirements. The Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors have approved specific financial goals and measures (as defined in the Performance Award Goals and Measures), based on our cumulative cash flow from operations and a comparison of return on invested capital and cost of capital for each of the three-year periods ending December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 to be used as the basis for the final value of the performance units. The final value of each performance unit granted in 2013, 2012 and 2011 may range from $0 to $150. Upon vesting and determination of value, the value of the performance units will be payable in cash. Compensation expense related to the performance units was $22.9 million, $19.9 million and $18.8 million in 2013, 2012 and 2010, respectively. As of December 31, 2013, there were 434,375 performance units outstanding.
	There has been no stock option activity after December 31, 2010.
	During 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Compensation Committee granted restricted units of our common stock to certain of our key executives and employees. During 2013, 2012 and 2011, our Board of Directors granted restricted units of our common stock to our Chairman of the Board of Directors (our "Chairman") and restricted common stock to our other nonemployee directors. Over 60%, 50% and 50% of the grants made to our employees in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, vest in full on the third anniversary of the award date, conditional upon continued employment. The remainder of the grants made to employees and all the grants made to our Chairman vest pro rata over three years, as these participants meet certain age and years-of-service requirements. For the grants to each of the participant employees and the Chairman, the participant will be issued a share of our common stock for the participant's vested restricted stock units at the earlier of three years or, if the participant vested earlier after meeting the age and service requirements, at termination of employment or service. The grants to our nonemployee directors vest in full on the first anniversary of the award date conditional upon continued service as a director, with one exception.  In February 2013, we granted shares of restricted common stock to a director who had given written notice of his intention to retire from our board of directors.  Those shares were to vest if his service continued until the election of directors at our annual meeting of shareholders in April 2013.  The director fulfilled that requirement by resigning concurrent with that election and the shares of restricted stock became vested. In April 2009, the Compensation Committee adopted a policy that Oceaneering will not provide U.S. federal income tax gross-up payments to any of its directors or executive officers in connection with future awards of restricted stock or stock units. This policy had no effect on existing change-in-control agreements with two of our executive officers or the existing service agreement with our Chairman, which provide for tax gross-up payments that could become applicable to such future awards in limited circumstances, such as following a change in control of Oceaneering. Since August 2010, there have been no outstanding awards that provide for tax gross-up payments. The tax benefit realized from tax deductions in excess of the financial statement expense of our restricted stock grants was $3.4 million, $2.5 million and $1.3 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
	The following is a summary of our restricted stock and restricted stock unit activity for 2013, 2012 and 2011:
		Number		Weighted		Aggregate
				Average		Intrinsic Value
				Fair Value
	Balance at December 31, 2010	1,044,150		25.74
	Granted	463,400		41.26
	Issued	(379,952	)	30.81		$	15,563,000
	Forfeited	(36,748	)	27.77
	Balance at December 31, 2011	1,090,850		30.49
	Granted	337,575		55.98
	Issued	(369,050	)	20.03		$	20,325,000
	Forfeited	(27,803	)	42.02
	Balance at December 31, 2012	1,031,572		42.27
	Granted	330,705		62.55
	Issued	(376,078	)	33.18		$	23,904,000
	Forfeited	(25,909	)	52.72
	Balance at December 31, 2013	960,290		$	52.53
	The restricted stock units granted in 2013, 2012 and 2011 carry no voting rights and no dividend rights. Each grantee of shares of restricted common stock is deemed to be the record owner of those shares during the restriction period, with the right to vote and receive any dividends on those shares.
	Effective January 1, 2006, the unvested portions of our grants of restricted stock units were valued at their estimated fair values as of their respective grant dates. The grants in 2013, 2012 and 2011 were subject only to vesting conditioned on continued employment or service as a nonemployee director; therefore, these grants were valued at the grant date fair market value using the closing price of our stock on the New York Stock Exchange.
	Compensation expense under the restricted stock plans was $16.7 million, $14.6 million and $11.1 million for 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. As of December 31, 2013, we had $14.4 million of future expense to be recognized related to our restricted stock unit plans over a weighted average remaining life of 1.7 years.
	Post-Employment Benefit
	In 2001, we entered into an agreement with our Chairman who was also then our Chief Executive Officer. That agreement was amended in 2006 and in 2008. Pursuant to the amended agreement, the Chairman relinquished his position as Chief Executive Officer in May 2006 and began his post-employment service period on December 31, 2006, which continued through August 15, 2011, during which service period the Chairman, acting as an independent contractor, agreed to serve as nonexecutive Chairman of our Board of Directors. The agreement provides the Chairman with post-employment benefits for ten years following August 15, 2011. The agreement also provides for medical coverage on an after-tax basis to the Chairman, his spouse and children for their lives. We recognized the net present value of the post-employment benefits over the expected service period. Our total accrued liabilities, current and long-term, under this post-employment benefit were $6.3 million and $6.8 million at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
	As part of the arrangements relating to the Chairman's post-employment benefits, we established an irrevocable grantor trust, commonly known as a "rabbi trust," to provide the Chairman greater assurance that we will set aside an adequate source of funds to fund payment of the post-retirement benefits under this agreement, including the medical coverage benefits payable to the Chairman, his spouse and their children for their lives. In connection with establishment of the rabbi trust, we contributed to the trust a life insurance policy on the life of the Chairman, which we had previously obtained, and we agreed to continue to pay the premiums due on that policy. When the life insurance policy matures, the proceeds of the policy will become assets of the trust. If the value of the trust exceeds $4 million, as adjusted by the consumer price index, at any time after January 1, 2012, the excess may be paid to us. However, because the trust is irrevocable, the assets of the trust are generally not available to fund our future operations until the trust terminates, which is not expected to be during the lives of the Chairman, his spouse or their children. Furthermore, no tax deduction will be available for our contributions to the trust; however, we may benefit from future tax deductions for benefits actually paid from the trust (although benefit payments from the trust are not expected to occur in the near term, because we expect to make direct payments of those benefits for the foreseeable future).

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po1

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies (Policy)	12 Months Ended										46 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013										Dec. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'										'
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]	'										'
	New Accounting Standard. In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an update to improve the reporting of amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income. The update amends the presentation of changes in accumulated other comprehensive income and requires an entity to report the change of each component of other comprehensive income, including amounts reclassified out of accumulated comprehensive income into operating income, either on the face of the income statement or as a separate disclosure in the notes. We adopted this update on January 1, 2013, as required. The provisions of this update have not had a material effect on our financial position or results of operations.
Treasury Stock [Text Block]	'										'
											Repurchase Plan. In February 2010, our Board of Directors approved a plan to repurchase up to 12,000,000 shares of our common stock. Through December 31, 2013 under this plan, we repurchased 3,100,000 shares of our common stock for $86 million.
Principles of Consolidation	'										'
	Principles of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Oceaneering International, Inc. and our 50% or more owned and controlled subsidiaries. We also consolidate entities that are determined to be variable interest entities if we determine that we are the primary beneficiary; otherwise, we account for those entities using the equity method of accounting. We use the equity method to account for our investments in unconsolidated affiliated companies of which we own an equity interest of between 20% and 50% and as to which we have significant influence, but not control, over operations. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
Use Of Estimates	'										'
	Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires that our management make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Reclassifications	'										'
	Reclassifications. Certain amounts from prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	'										'
	Cash and Cash Equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include demand deposits and highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of the investment.
Accounts Receivable	'Accounts Receivable b Allowances for Doubtful Accounts. We determine the need for allowances for doubtful accounts using the specific identification method. We do not generally require collateral from our customers.										'
Inventory	'										'
	Inventory. Inventory is valued at lower of cost or market. We determine cost using the weighted-average method.
Property and Equipment	'										'
	Property and Equipment. We provide for depreciation of property and equipment on the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of eight years for ROVs, three to 20 years for marine services equipment (such as vessels and diving equipment), and three to 25 years for buildings, improvements and other equipment.
	We charge the costs of repair and maintenance of property and equipment to operations as incurred, while we capitalize the costs of improvements that extend asset lives or functionality.
	We capitalize interest on assets where the construction period is anticipated to be more than three months. We did not capitalize any interest in 2013, 2012 or 2011. We do not allocate general administrative costs to capital projects. Upon the disposition of property and equipment, the related cost and accumulated depreciation accounts are relieved and any resulting gain or loss is included as an adjustment to cost of services and products.
	Our management periodically, and upon the occurrence of a triggering event, reviews the realizability of long-lived assets, excluding goodwill, which are held and used by us, to determine whether any events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. For long-lived assets to be held and used, we base our evaluation on impairment indicators such as the nature of the assets, the future economic benefit of the assets, any historical or future profitability measurements and other external market conditions or factors that may be present. If such impairment indicators are present or other factors exist that indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable, we determine whether an impairment has occurred through the use of an undiscounted cash flows analysis of the asset at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows exist. If an impairment has occurred, we recognize a loss for the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the asset. For assets held for sale or disposal, the fair value of the asset is measured using fair market value less cost to sell. Assets are classified as held-for-sale when we have a plan for disposal of certain assets and those assets meet the held for sale criteria.
Business Acquisitions	'										'
	Business Acquisitions. We account for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting, with the acquisition price being allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition.
	The following table presents the cost (net of cash acquired) and the amounts of associated goodwill, other intangible assets, and other assets net of liabilities assumed for the business acquisitions we made in 2011:
	(in thousands)		Cost		Goodwill		Other Intangible Assets		Other, net
	Norse Cutting and Abandonment AS		$	50,296	$	20,283	$	13,802	$	16,211
	AGR Field Operations Holdings AS		220,011		165,218		41,387		13,406
	Other		21,310		10,836		5,360		5,114
	Total Business Acquisitions		$	291,617	$	196,337	$	60,549	$	34,731
	In March 2011, we purchased Norse Cutting and Abandonment AS ("NCA"), a Norwegian oilfield technology company that specializes in providing subsea tooling services used in the plugging, abandonment and decommissioning of offshore oil and gas production platforms and subsea wellheads. In addition, NCA performs specialized maintenance and repair services on production platforms in the North Sea. NCA's business is split approximately evenly between the North Sea and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and the business is in our Subsea Products segment. The acquisition included a small, non-strategic business operation we intended to sell when we purchased NCA. During 2011, we sold that operation, making the net acquisition price of the retained NCA operations $50 million. We have accounted for this net acquisition by allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. Our goodwill, all nondeductible for income tax purposes, associated with the acquisition was $20 million, and other intangible assets were $14 million. The results of operations of NCA are included in our consolidated statements of income from the date of acquisition.
	In December 2011, we purchased AGR Field Operations Holdings AS and subsidiaries (collectively, "AGR FO"), which we believe is Norway's largest asset integrity management service provider on offshore production platforms, onshore facilities, and pipelines. AGR FO employs subsea technology to perform internal and external inspections of subsea hardware. AGR FO also has a substantial operating presence in Australia, where it operates and maintains offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities for customers and provides subsea engineering services and operates an offshore logistics supply base. We incurred, and charged to expense, approximately $2 million of transaction costs associated with this acquisition.
	We have accounted for this acquisition by allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. Our goodwill, all nondeductible for income tax purposes, associated with the acquisition was $165 million, and other intangible assets were $41 million. The results of operations of AGR FO are included in our consolidated statements of income from the date of acquisition. Generally, AGR FO's Norwegian assets and operations are in our Asset Integrity segment and its Australian assets and operations are in our Subsea Projects segment.
	We also made several smaller acquisitions during the periods presented, none of which were material.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets	'										'
	Goodwill and Intangible Assets. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an update regarding goodwill impairment testing. Under the update, an entity has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, an entity determines it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, performing the two-step impairment test is unnecessary. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to perform the first step of the two-step impairment test. We began applying this update in 2011. We qualitatively tested the goodwill attributable to each of our reporting units for impairment as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 and concluded that there was no impairment. The only changes in our reporting units' goodwill during the periods presented are from business acquisitions, as discussed above, and currency exchange rate changes. For more information regarding goodwill by business segment, see Note 7.
	Intangible assets, primarily acquired in connection with business combinations, include trade names, intellectual property and customer relationships and are being amortized with a weighted average remaining life of approximately 12 years.
Revenue Recognition	'										'
	Revenue Recognition. We recognize our revenue according to the type of contract involved. On a daily basis, we recognize revenue under contracts that provide for specific time, material and equipment charges, which we bill periodically, ranging from weekly to monthly.
	We account for significant fixed-price contracts, which we enter into mainly in our Subsea Products segment, and to a lesser extent in our Subsea Projects and Advanced Technologies segments, using the percentage-of-completion method. In 2013, we accounted for 12% of our revenue using the percentage-of-completion method. In determining whether a contract should be accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method, we consider whether:
	•	the customer provides specifications for the construction of facilities or production of goods or for the provision of related services;
	•	we can reasonably estimate our progress towards completion and our costs;
	•	the contract includes provisions as to the enforceable rights regarding the goods or services to be provided, consideration to be received and the manner and terms of payment;
	•	the customer can be expected to satisfy its obligations under the contract; and
	•	we can be expected to perform our contractual obligations.
	Under the percentage-of-completion method, we generally recognize estimated contract revenue based on costs incurred to date as a percentage of total estimated costs. Changes in the expected cost of materials and labor, productivity, scheduling and other factors affect the total estimated costs. Additionally, external factors, including weather or other factors outside of our control, also affect the progress and estimated cost of a project's completion and, therefore, the timing of income and revenue recognition. We routinely review estimates related to our contracts and reflect revisions to profitability in earnings immediately. If a current estimate of total contract cost indicates an ultimate loss on a contract, we recognize the projected loss in full when we determine it. Although we are continually striving to accurately estimate our contract costs and profitability, adjustments to overall contract costs could be significant in future periods.
	We recognize the remainder of our revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, price is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably assured.
	Revenue in Excess of Amounts Billed is classified as accounts receivable and relates to recoverable costs and accrued profits on contracts in progress. Billings in Excess of Revenue Recognized on uncompleted contracts are classified in accrued liabilities.
Stock-based Compensation	'										'
	Stock-Based Compensation. We recognize all share-based payments to directors, officers and employees over their vesting periods in the income statement based on their estimated fair values. For more information on our employee benefit plans, see Note 8.
Income Taxes	'										'
	Income Taxes. We provide income taxes at appropriate tax rates in accordance with our interpretation of the respective tax laws and regulations after review and consultation with our internal tax department, tax advisors and, in some cases, legal counsel in various jurisdictions. We provide for deferred income taxes for differences between carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial and tax reporting purposes. We provide for deferred U.S. income taxes on foreign income only to the extent such income is not to be indefinitely reinvested in foreign entities. We provide a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the asset will not be realized.
	We recognize the benefit for a tax position if the benefit is more likely than not to be sustainable upon audit by the applicable taxing authority. If this threshold is met, the tax benefit is then measured and recognized at the largest amount that we believe is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. We account for any applicable interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as a component of our provision for income taxes on our financial statements.
Foreign Currency Translations	'										'
	Foreign Currency Translation. The functional currency for several of our foreign subsidiaries is the applicable local currency. Results of operations for foreign subsidiaries with functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates during the period. Assets and liabilities of these foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date, and the resulting translation adjustments are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income as a component of shareholders' equity. All foreign currency transaction gains and losses are recognized currently in the Consolidated Statements of Income. We recorded $0.1 million, $(5.4) million and
	$(0.4) million of foreign currency transaction gains (losses) in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and those amounts are included as a component of Other income (expense), net.
Financial Instruments	'										'
	Financial Instruments. We recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities in the balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. Subsequent changes in fair value are reflected in current earnings or other comprehensive income, depending on whether a derivative instrument is designated as part of a hedge relationship and, if it is, the type of hedge relationship. During the three-year period ended December 31, 2013, we had no derivative instruments in effect.

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po2

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Business Acquisitions, by Acquisition	'
	The following table presents the cost (net of cash acquired) and the amounts of associated goodwill, other intangible assets, and other assets net of liabilities assumed for the business acquisitions we made in 2011:
	(in thousands)	Cost			Goodwill			Other Intangible Assets		Other, net
	Norse Cutting and Abandonment AS	$	50,296		$	20,283		$	13,802	$	16,211
	AGR Field Operations Holdings AS	220,011			165,218			41,387		13,406
	Other	21,310			10,836			5,360		5,114
	Total Business Acquisitions	$	291,617		$	196,337		$	60,549	$	34,731
Schedule of Temporary Differences Using the Percentage-of-Completion Method	'
	Revenue in Excess of Amounts Billed on uncompleted fixed-price contracts accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method is summarized as follows:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Revenue recognized	$	199,654		$	181,286
	Less: Billings to customers	(168,215		)	(156,852		)
	Revenue in excess of amounts billed	$	31,439		$	24,434
	Billings in Excess of Revenue Recognized on uncompleted fixed-price contracts accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method are summarized as follows:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Amounts billed to customers	$	200,909		$	108,244
	Less: Revenue recognized	(86,264		)	(55,803		)
	Billings in excess of revenue recognized	$	114,645		$	52,441
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted	'
	Earnings Per Share. For each of the years 2013, 2012 and 2011, the only difference between the our annual calculated weighted average basic and diluted number of shares outstanding is the effect of outstanding restricted stock units.

Selected_Balance_Sheet_Informa1

Selected Balance Sheet Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Equity Method Investment, Summarized Financial Information [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Other Assets and Other Liabilities [Table Text Block]	'
	The following is information regarding selected balance sheet accounts:
			December 31,
	(in thousands)		2013		2012
	Inventory:
		Remotely operated vehicle parts and components	$	190,403	$	174,612
		Other inventory, primarily raw materials	251,386		156,668
		Total	$	441,789	$	331,280
	Other Current Assets:
		Deferred income taxes	$	61,589	$	22,604
		Prepaid expenses	69,625		61,627
		Total	$	131,214	$	84,231
	Other Non-Current Assets:
		Intangible assets, net	$	68,522	$	78,252
		Cash surrender value of life insurance policies	52,862		42,841
		Other	3,262		13,091
		Total	$	124,646	$	134,184
	Investments in unconsolidated affiliates:
		Medusa Spar LLC	$	37,376	$	42,540
		Other	86		79
			$	37,462	$	42,619
	Accrued Liabilities:
		Payroll and related costs	$	218,766	$	218,609
		Accrued job costs	72,117		75,037
		Deferred revenue, including billings in excess of revenue recognized	150,246		73,465
		Other	75,499		41,192
		Total	$	516,628	$	408,303
	Other Long-Term Liabilities:
		Deferred income taxes	$	260,807	$	178,100
		Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan	45,144		35,772
		Accrued post-employment benefit obligations	10,528		12,942
		Other	41,493		14,659
		Total	$	357,972	$	241,473

Income_Taxes_Tables

Income Taxes (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]	'
	We believe it is more likely than not that all our deferred tax assets are realizable. Reconciliations between the actual provision for income taxes on continuing operations and that computed by applying the United States statutory rate to income before income taxes were as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
		2013			2012			2011
	United States statutory rate	35	%		35	%		35	%
	State and local taxes	0.2			0.1			0.2
	Foreign tax rate differential	(3.7	)		(2.9	)		(3.3	)
	Amended returns filed	—			—			(1.4	)
	Other items, net	—			(0.7	)		(0.2	)
	Total effective tax rate	31.5	%		31.5	%		30.3	%
	We consider $431 million of unremitted earnings of our foreign subsidiaries to be indefinitely reinvested. It is not practical for us to compute the amount of additional U.S. tax that would be due on this amount. We have provided deferred income taxes on the foreign earnings we expect to repatriate.
Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	'
	Our provisions for income taxes and our cash taxes paid are as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Current:
	Domestic	$	45,468			$	4,039			$	13,169
	Foreign	73,568				108,212				81,556
	Total current	119,036				112,251				94,725
	Deferred:
	Domestic	56,115				26,170				12,144
	Foreign	(4,315		)		(5,516		)		(4,642		)
	Total deferred	51,800				20,654				7,502
	Total provision for income taxes	$	170,836			$	132,905			$	102,227
	Cash taxes paid	$	113,760			$	92,422			$	72,825
Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign	'
	The components of income before income taxes are as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Domestic	$	68,066			$	53,240			$	41,831
	Foreign	474,270				368,682				296,054
	Income before income taxes	$	542,336			$	421,922			$	337,885
Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities	'
	As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, our worldwide deferred tax assets, liabilities and net deferred tax liabilities were as follows:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012
	Deferred tax assets:
	Deferred compensation	$	48,401			$	42,296
	Deferred income	30,101				10,251
	Accrued expenses	8,441				7,676
	Other	11,921				12,613
	Gross deferred tax assets	98,864				72,836
	Valuation allowance	—				—
	Total deferred tax assets	$	98,864			$	72,836
	Deferred tax liabilities:
	Property and equipment	$	129,441			$	106,237
	Unremitted foreign earnings	157,091				91,164
	Basis difference in equity investments	10,843				13,860
	Other	707				17,071
	Total deferred tax liabilities	$	298,082			$	228,332
	Net deferred income tax liability	$	199,218			$	155,496
	Our net deferred tax liability is reflected within our balance sheet as follows:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012
	Deferred tax liabilities	$	260,807			$	178,100
	Current deferred tax assets	(61,589		)		(22,604		)
	Net deferred income tax liability	$	199,218			$	155,496
Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward	'
	We recognize the benefit for a tax position if the benefit is more likely than not to be sustainable upon audit by the applicable taxing authority. If this threshold is met, the tax benefit is then measured and recognized at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.
	We account for any applicable interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as a component of our provision for income taxes on our financial statements. We increased/(decreased) income tax expense by $1.7 million, $(2.7) million and
	$0.4 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, for penalties and interest on uncertain tax positions, which brought our total liabilities for penalties and interest on uncertain tax positions to $3.3 million and $1.7 million on our balance sheets at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Including associated foreign tax credits and penalties and interest, we have accrued a net total of $8.6 million in the caption "other long-term liabilities" on our balance sheet for unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2013. All additions or reductions to those liabilities affect our effective income tax rate in the periods of change.
	A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, not including associated foreign tax credits and penalties and interest, is as follows:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013				2012				2011
	Beginning of year	$	5,140			$	10,104			$	9,991
	Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	100				244				947
	Reductions for expiration of statutes of limitations	(1,225		)		(225		)		(834		)
	Additions based on tax positions related to prior years	3,490				3,335				—
	Reductions based on tax positions related to prior years	(337		)		(8,193		)		—
	Settlements	—				(125		)		—
	Balance at end of year	$	7,168			$	5,140			$	10,104
	We do not believe that the total of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease in the next 12 months.
Summary of Income Tax Examinations	'
	We file a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return for Oceaneering International, Inc. and our domestic subsidiaries. We conduct our international operations in a number of locations that have varying laws and regulations with regard to income and other taxes, some of which are subject to interpretation. Our management believes that adequate provisions have been made for all taxes that will ultimately be payable, although final determination of tax liabilities may differ from our estimates.
	Our tax returns are subject to audit by taxing authorities in multiple jurisdictions. These audits often take years to complete and settle. The following lists the earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities where we have significant operations:
	Jurisdiction	Periods
	United States	2010
	United Kingdom	2010
	Norway	2003
	Angola	2008
	Nigeria	2007
	Brazil	2008
	Australia	2009
	Canada	2009

Selected_Income_Statement_Info1

Selected Income Statement Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Selected Income Statement Information [Abstract]	'
Revenue from External Customers by Products and Services [Table Text Block]	'
	The following schedule shows our revenue, costs and gross margins by services and products:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Revenue:
	Services	$	2,174,739		$	1,887,957		$	1,369,614
	Products	1,112,280			894,647			823,049
	Total revenue	3,287,019			2,782,604			2,192,663
	Cost of Services and Products:
	Services	1,624,483			1,418,511			999,396
	Products	788,109			642,199			603,289
	Unallocated expenses	108,891			94,036			81,219
	Total cost of services and products	2,521,483			2,154,746			1,683,904
	Gross margin:
	Services	550,256			469,446			370,218
	Products	324,171			252,448			219,760
	Unallocated expenses	(108,891		)	(94,036		)	(81,219		)
	Total gross margin	$	765,536		$	627,858		$	508,759

Debt_Tables

Debt (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Debt	'
	Long-term Debt consisted of the following:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013		2012
	Revolving credit facility	$	—	$	94,000
	Long-term Debt	$	—	$	94,000

Commitments_and_Contingencies_

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Operating Leases of Lessee Disclosure	'
	At December 31, 2013, we occupied several facilities under noncancellable operating leases expiring at various dates through 2025. Future minimum rentals under all of our operating leases, including vessel rentals, are as follows:
	(in thousands)
	2014	$	106,474
	2015	101,543
	2016	89,686
	2017	29,255
	2018	12,099
	Thereafter	32,689
	Total Lease Commitments	$	371,746

Operations_by_Business_Segment1

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting, Measurement Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Financial Data By Business Segment	'
	The table that follows presents Revenue, Income from Operations, Depreciation and Amortization Expense and Equity Earnings of Unconsolidated Affiliates by business segment:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Revenue
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	981,728		$	853,520		$	755,033
	Subsea Products	1,027,792			829,034			770,212
	Subsea Projects	509,440			379,571			167,477
	Asset Integrity	481,919			435,381			266,577
	Total Oilfield	3,000,879			2,497,506			1,959,299
	Advanced Technologies	286,140			285,098			233,364
	Total	$	3,287,019		$	2,782,604		$	2,192,663
	Income from Operations
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	281,973		$	248,972		$	224,705
	Subsea Products	231,050			170,959			142,184
	Subsea Projects	93,865			63,461			32,662
	Asset Integrity	55,243			45,196			30,560
	Total Oilfield	662,131			528,588			430,111
	Advanced Technologies	24,954			21,182			16,661
	Unallocated Expenses	(141,969		)	(121,173		)	(111,941		)
	Total	$	545,116		$	428,597		$	334,831
	Depreciation and Amortization Expense
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	128,310		$	108,933		$	100,089
	Subsea Products	39,964			36,638			31,299
	Subsea Projects	15,331			13,340			8,024
	Asset Integrity	12,401			11,808			5,689
	Total Oilfield	196,006			170,719			145,101
	Advanced Technologies	2,682			2,677			3,134
	Unallocated Expenses	3,540			3,087			2,992
	Total	$	202,228		$	176,483		$	151,227
	Equity Earnings of Unconsolidated Affiliates
	Subsea Projects	$	133		$	1,673		$	3,801
	Total	$	133		$	1,673		$	3,801
Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated	'
	The following table presents Assets, Property and Equipment and Goodwill by business segment as of the dates indicated:
		December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012
	Assets
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	1,117,920		$	1,017,772
	Subsea Products	942,607			727,703
	Subsea Projects	382,782			316,353
	Asset Integrity	381,392			404,137
	Total Oilfield	2,824,701			2,465,965
	Advanced Technologies	67,328			73,908
	Corporate and Other	236,471			228,245
	Total	$	3,128,500		$	2,768,118
	Property and Equipment, net
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	681,027		$	597,770
	Subsea Products	289,015			213,536
	Subsea Projects	163,210			157,755
	Asset Integrity	34,223			33,503
	Total Oilfield	1,167,475			1,002,564
	Advanced Technologies	12,332			9,194
	Corporate and Other	9,292			13,374
	Total	$	1,189,099		$	1,025,132
	Goodwill
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	26,761		$	27,428
	Subsea Products	113,066			120,332
	Asset Integrity	183,777			204,979
	Total Oilfield	323,604			352,739
	Advanced Technologies	20,414			10,454
	Total	$	344,018		$	363,193
	All assets specifically identified with a particular business segment have been segregated. Cash and cash equivalents, certain other current assets, certain investments and other assets have not been allocated to particular business segments and are included in Corporate and Other.
Reconciliation of Other Significant Reconciling Items from Segments to Consolidated	'
	The following table presents Capital Expenditures, including business acquisitions, by business segment for the periods indicated:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Capital Expenditures
	Oilfield
	Remotely Operated Vehicles	$	225,885		$	198,323		$	135,770
	Subsea Products	102,653			68,052			100,824
	Subsea Projects	40,833			15,890			64,803
	Asset Integrity	8,327			18,560			212,951
	Total Oilfield	377,698			300,825			514,348
	Advanced Technologies	13,175			2,953			5,757
	Corporate and Other	2,717			6,080			6,540
	Total	$	393,590		$	309,858		$	526,645
Schedule of Revenue from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets, by Geographical Areas	'
	The following table summarizes certain financial data by geographic area:
		Year Ended December 31,
	(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
	Revenue
	Foreign:
	Africa	$	696,202		$	505,541		$	316,051
	Norway	461,915			461,863			310,891
	United Kingdom	383,397			334,319			256,565
	Asia and Australia	335,129			290,821			217,094
	Brazil	213,282			164,660			155,532
	Other	90,456			70,172			61,916
	Total Foreign	2,180,381			1,827,376			1,318,049
	United States	1,106,638			955,228			874,614
	Total	$	3,287,019		$	2,782,604		$	2,192,663
	Long-Lived Assets
	Foreign:
	Norway	$	429,603		$	474,408		$	436,043
	Africa	186,865			141,927			120,732
	United Kingdom	99,250			85,434			65,830
	Asia and Australia	83,885			65,012			72,518
	Brazil	112,840			113,829			99,709
	Other	38,516			34,105			30,633
	Total Foreign	950,959			914,715			825,465
	United States	691,404			607,572			552,639
	Total	$	1,642,363		$	1,522,287		$	1,378,104

Employee_Benefit_Plans_and_Sha1

Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Share-based Compensation, Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Activity	'
	The following is a summary of our restricted stock and restricted stock unit activity for 2013, 2012 and 2011:
		Number		Weighted		Aggregate
				Average		Intrinsic Value
				Fair Value
	Balance at December 31, 2010	1,044,150		25.74
	Granted	463,400		41.26
	Issued	(379,952	)	30.81		$	15,563,000
	Forfeited	(36,748	)	27.77
	Balance at December 31, 2011	1,090,850		30.49
	Granted	337,575		55.98
	Issued	(369,050	)	20.03		$	20,325,000
	Forfeited	(27,803	)	42.02
	Balance at December 31, 2012	1,031,572		42.27
	Granted	330,705		62.55
	Issued	(376,078	)	33.18		$	23,904,000
	Forfeited	(25,909	)	52.72
	Balance at December 31, 2013	960,290		$	52.53

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po3

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies - Principles of Consolidation And Repurchases (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Feb. 28, 2010
In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Stock Repurchase Program, Number of Shares Authorized to be Repurchased	'	12,000,000
Stock Repurchase Program, Total Number of Shares Repurchased To Date	3,100,000	'
Stock Repurchase Program, Total Shares Repurchased To Date, Amount	$86	'
Minimum [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Percentage	50.00%	'
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Interest Threshold For Consolidation, Percentage	20.00%	'
Maximum [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Interest Threshold For Consolidation, Percentage	50.00%	'

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po4

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies - Property, Plant and Equipment (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Interest Costs, Capitalized, Minimum Construction Period	'3 months	'	'
Interest Costs, Capitalized During Period	$0	$0	$0
Other Comprehensive Income	-70,423	45,037	-18,231
Remotely Operated Vehicles [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life, Average	'8 years	'	'
Maximum [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Short-term Investments, Maturity Period	'3 months	'	'
Maximum [Member] | Marine Services Equipment [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life, Average	'20 years	'	'
Maximum [Member] | Building and Building Improvements [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life, Average	'25 years	'	'
Minimum [Member] | Marine Services Equipment [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life, Average	'3 years	'	'
Minimum [Member] | Building and Building Improvements [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life, Average	'3 years	'	'
Accumulated Defined Benefit Plans Adjustment [Member]	'	'	'
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]	'	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income	'	$262	$143

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po5

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies - Acquisitions (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2011
Business Acquisition [Line Items]	'
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price	$291,617,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill Amount	196,337,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets Not Amortizable	60,549,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Assets Acquired (Liabilities Assumed), Net	34,731,000
Norse Cutting and Abandonment AS [Member]	'
Business Acquisition [Line Items]	'
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price	50,296,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill Amount	20,283,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets Not Amortizable	13,802,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Assets Acquired (Liabilities Assumed), Net	16,211,000
AGR Field Operations [Member]	'
Business Acquisition [Line Items]	'
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price	220,011,000
Business Combination, Separately Recognized Transactions, Additional Disclosures, Acquisition Costs	2,000,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill Amount	165,218,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets Not Amortizable	41,387,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Assets Acquired (Liabilities Assumed), Net	13,406,000
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions [Member]	'
Business Acquisition [Line Items]	'
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price	21,310,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill Amount	10,836,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets Not Amortizable	5,360,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Assets Acquired (Liabilities Assumed), Net	$5,114,000

Recovered_Sheet1

Summary of Major Accounting Policies - Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'	'
Goodwill, Impairment Loss	'	$0
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Weighted Average Useful Life	'12 years	'

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po6

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies - Percentage-of-Completion (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule Temporary Differences Using Percentage of Completion [Line Items]	'	'
Revenue Recognition, Multiple-deliverable Arrangements, Percentage of Revenue Accounted Under the Percentage of Completion Method	12.00%	'
Contract in Unbilled Receivable Position [Member]	'	'
Schedule Temporary Differences Using Percentage of Completion [Line Items]	'	'
Fixed-price Contract, Percentage of Completion, Revenue Recognized to Date	$199,654	$181,286
Billed Contracts Receivable	-168,215	-156,852
Costs in Excess of Billings on Uncompleted Contracts or Programs	31,439	24,434
Contracts in Unearned Revenue Position [Member]	'	'
Schedule Temporary Differences Using Percentage of Completion [Line Items]	'	'
Fixed-price Contract, Percentage of Completion, Revenue Recognized to Date	-86,264	-55,803
Billed Contracts Receivable	200,909	108,244
Billings in Excess of Cost	$114,645	$52,441

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po7

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies - Foreign Currency Translation (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'	'	'
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss), before Tax	$0.10	($5.40)	($0.40)

Summary_Of_Major_Accounting_Po8

Summary Of Major Accounting Policies - Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Basic earnings per share:	'	'	'
Net income per consolidated statements of income	$371,500	$289,017	$235,658
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	108,158	108,015	108,308
Basic earnings per share	$3.43	$2.68	$2.18
Diluted earnings per share:	'	'	'
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	108,731	108,617	109,001
Diluted earnings per share	$3.42	$2.66	$2.16

Selected_Balance_Sheet_Informa2

Selected Balance Sheet Information (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2003
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Deferred income taxes	$61,589,000	$22,604,000	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Significant Property, Plant and Equipment Owned by Equity Method Investee	75.00%	'	'	'
Equity Method Investments	37,462,000	42,619,000	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Percentage of Cumulative Undistributed Earnings	50.00%	'	'	'
Medusa Spar LLC Investment [Member]	'	'	'	'
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'	'	'
Percentage of equity method investment	50.00%	'	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Aggregate Cost	'	'	'	43,700,000
Equity Method Investment, Significant Property, Plant and Equipment Owned by Equity Method Investee	75.00%	'	'	'
Equity Method Investments	37,376,000	42,540,000	'	'
Retained Earnings, Undistributed Earnings from Equity Method Investees	-4,300,000	900,000	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Dividends or Distributions	$5,300,000	$8,700,000	$6,300,000	'

Selected_Balance_Sheet_Informa3

Selected Balance Sheet Information (Details 2) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Inventory for remotely operated vehicles	$190,403	$174,612
Inventory, Work in Process and Raw Materials	251,386	156,668
Inventory	441,789	331,280
Deferred income taxes	61,589	22,604
Prepaid expenses	69,625	61,627
Other current assets	131,214	84,231
Intangible Assets, Net (Excluding Goodwill)	68,522	78,252
Cash surrender value of life insurance policies	52,862	42,841
Other	3,262	13,091
Other non-current assets	124,646	134,184
Equity Method Investments	37,462	42,619
Payroll and related costs	218,766	218,609
Accrued job costs	72,117	75,037
Deferred revenue, including billings in excess of revenue recognized	150,246	73,465
Other	75,499	41,192
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities, Current	516,628	408,303
Deferred tax liabilities	260,807	178,100
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan	45,144	35,772
Accrued post-employment benefit obligations	10,528	12,942
Other	41,493	14,659
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities, Noncurrent	357,972	241,473
Medusa Spar LLC [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Equity Method Investments	37,376	42,540
Other [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Equity Method Investments	$86	$79

Income_Taxes_Provisions_for_In

Income Taxes - Provisions for Income Taxes (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Current:	'	'	'
Domestic	$45,468	$4,039	$13,169
Foreign	73,568	108,212	81,556
Total current	119,036	112,251	94,725
Deferred:	'	'	'
Domestic	56,115	26,170	12,144
Foreign	-4,315	-5,516	-4,642
Total deferred	51,800	20,654	7,502
Total provision for income taxes	170,836	132,905	102,227
Cash taxes paid	$113,760	$92,422	$72,825

Income_Taxes_Income_Before_Inc

Income Taxes - Income Before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]	'	'	'
Domestic	$68,066	$53,240	$41,831
Foreign	474,270	368,682	296,054
Income before Income Taxes	$542,336	$421,922	$337,885

Income_Taxes_Deferred_Tax_Asse

Income Taxes - Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Deferred tax assets:	'	'
Deferred compensation	$48,401	$42,296
Deferred income	30,101	10,251
Accrued expenses	8,441	7,676
Other	11,921	12,613
Gross deferred tax assets	98,864	72,836
Valuation allowance	0	0
Total deferred tax assets	98,864	72,836
Deferred tax liabilities:	'	'
Property and equipment	129,441	106,237
Unremitted foreign earnings	157,091	91,164
Basis difference in equity investments	10,843	13,860
Other	707	17,071
Total deferred tax liabilities	298,082	228,332
Net deferred income tax liability	199,218	155,496
Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities), Net [Abstract]	'	'
Deferred tax liabilities	260,807	178,100
Deferred income taxes	-61,589	-22,604
Net deferred income tax liability	$199,218	$155,496

Income_Taxes_Narrative_Details

Income Taxes - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Tax Credit Carryforward [Line Items]	'	'	'
Total effective tax rate	31.50%	31.50%	30.30%
United States statutory rate	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Decreases Resulting from Prior Period Tax Positions	($337,000)	($8,193,000)	$0
Unremitted Earnings of Foreign Subsidiaries To Be Indefinitely Reinvested	431,000,000	'	'
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Probability Threshold of Realizing for Tax Benefits Recognition, Minimum Percentage	'	'	50.00%
Penalties and interest expense relating to uncertain tax positions	1,700,000	-2,700,000	400,000
Liabilities for penalties and interest on uncertain tax	3,300,000	1,700,000	'
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Including Foreign Tax Credits and Penalties and Interest	'	$8,600,000	'

Income_Taxes_Summary_of_Unreco

Income Taxes - Summary of Unrecognized Tax Benefits (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits [Roll Forward]	'	'	'
Beginning of year	$5,140	$10,104	$9,991
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	100	244	947
Reductions for explration statutes of limitations	-1,225	-225	-834
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Increases Resulting from Prior Period Tax Positions	3,490	3,335	0
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Decreases Resulting from Prior Period Tax Positions	-337	-8,193	0
Settlements	0	-125	0
Balance at end of year	$7,168	$5,140	$10,104

Income_Taxes_Summary_Of_Earlie

Income Taxes - Summary Of Earliest Tax Years Open To Examination (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012
United States [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2010
United Kingdom [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2010
Norway [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2003
Angola [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2008
Nigeria [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2007
Brazil [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2008
Australia [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2009
Canada [Member]	'
Income Tax Examination [Line Items]	'
Earliest tax years open to examination by tax authorities	'2009

Income_Taxes_Income_Taxes_Inco

Income Taxes Income Taxes - Income Tax Reconciliation (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]	'	'	'
United States statutory rate	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
State and local taxes	0.20%	0.13%	0.20%
Foreign tax rate differential	-3.70%	-2.90%	-3.30%
Amended returns filed	0.00%	0.00%	-1.40%
Other items, net	0.00%	-0.70%	-0.20%
Total effective tax rate	31.50%	31.50%	30.30%

Selected_Income_Statement_Info2

Selected Income Statement Information Selected Income Statement Information (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Revenue:	'	'	'
Services	$2,174,739	$1,887,957	$1,369,614
Products	1,112,280	894,647	823,049
Total revenue	3,287,019	2,782,604	2,192,663
Cost of Services and Products:	'	'	'
Services	1,624,483	1,418,511	999,396
Products	788,109	642,199	603,289
Unallocated expenses	108,891	94,036	81,219
Total cost of services and products	2,521,483	2,154,746	1,683,904
Gross margin:	'	'	'
Services	550,256	469,446	370,218
Products	324,171	252,448	219,760
Unallocated expenses	-108,891	-94,036	-81,219
Gross Margin	$765,536	$627,858	$508,759

Debt_LongTerm_Debt_Details

Debt - Long-Term Debt (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'	'
Revolving credit facility	$0	$94,000
Long-term Debt	$0	$94,000

Debt_Line_of_Credit_Details

Debt - Line of Credit (Details) (USD $)

12 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

0 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Dec. 31, 2011

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Jan. 06, 2012

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Credit Agreement [Member]

Letter of Credit [Member]

Credit Agreement 2012 [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Adjusted Base Rate Advances [Member]

Adjusted Base Rate Advances [Member]

Adjusted Base Rate Advances [Member]

Adjusted Base Rate Advances [Member]

Eurodollar Advances [Member]

Eurodollar Advances [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Adjusted Base Rate [Member]

Adjusted Base Rate [Member]

Applicable Margin [Member]

Applicable Margin [Member]

Applicable Margin [Member]

Applicable Margin [Member]

Federal Funds Rate [Member]

Eurodollar Rate [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Refinancing of Debt [Member]

Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit Facility, Contractual Term

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'5 years

Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity

'

'

'

$300,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit Facility, Commitment Fee Percentage

'

'

'

'

'

0.18%

0.35%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding

0

94,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity

'

'

'

300,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit Facility, Available Additional Borrowing Capacity

'

'

'

'

200,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit, Description Of Variable Rate Basis

'

'

'

'LIBOR

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Line of Credit Facility, Basis Spread on Variable Rate

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

0.50%

1.00%

0.13%

0.75%

1.13%

1.75%

'

Interest Paid

$2,100,000

$4,300,000

$1,100,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Commitments_and_Contingencies_1

Commitments and Contingencies - Future Lease Payments (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]	'	'	'
2012	$106,474,000	'	'
2013	101,543,000	'	'
2014	89,686,000	'	'
2015	29,255,000	'	'
2016	12,099,000	'	'
Thereafter	32,689,000	'	'
Total Lease Commitments	371,746,000	'	'
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Net	$191,000,000	$107,000,000	$73,000,000

Recovered_Sheet2

Commitments And Contingencies - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]	'	'
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	$45,000,000	$42,000,000
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable, Current	4,168,000	2,298,000
Collectibility of Receivables [Member] | Brazil [Member]	'	'
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]	'	'
Accounts receivable, overdue	4,100,000	'
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable, Current	$3,300,000	'

Operations_by_Business_Segment2

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Significant Property, Plant and Equipment Owned by Equity Method Investee	75.00%	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Property Plant Equipment	($450)	$584	$24,188
Medusa Spar LLC Investment [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage	50.00%	'	'
Equity Method Investment, Significant Property, Plant and Equipment Owned by Equity Method Investee	75.00%	'	'
Sales [Member] | Customer Concentration Risk [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Major Customer Above Benchmark Threshold, Number	1	1	0
BP [Member] | Sales [Member] | Customer Concentration Risk [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Concentration Risk, Percentage	18.00%	13.00%	'
Subsea Projects Member	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Property Plant Equipment	'	'	$19,600

Operations_by_Business_Segment3

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area - Financial Data By Business Segment (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	$3,287,019	$2,782,604	$2,192,663
Income from Operations	545,116	428,597	334,831
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	202,228	176,483	151,227
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments	133	1,673	3,801
Oil And Gas [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	3,000,879	2,497,506	1,959,299
Income from Operations	662,131	528,588	430,111
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	196,006	170,719	145,101
ROVs [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	981,728	853,520	755,033
Income from Operations	281,973	248,972	224,705
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	128,310	108,933	100,089
Subsea Products [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	1,027,792	829,034	770,212
Income from Operations	231,050	170,959	142,184
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	39,964	36,638	31,299
Subsea Projects [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	509,440	379,571	167,477
Income from Operations	93,865	63,461	32,662
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	15,331	13,340	8,024
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments	133	1,673	3,801
Asset Integrity [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	481,919	435,381	266,577
Income from Operations	55,243	45,196	30,560
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	12,401	11,808	5,689
Advanced Technologies [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Revenue	286,140	285,098	233,364
Income from Operations	24,954	21,182	16,661
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	2,682	2,677	3,134
Unallocated Expenses [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Income from Operations	-141,969	-121,173	-111,941
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization, Nonproduction	$3,540	$3,087	$2,992

Operations_by_Business_Segment4

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Areas - Schedule of Assets (Details) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	$3,128,500	$2,768,118
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	1,189,099	1,025,132
Goodwill	344,018	363,193
Oil And Gas [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	2,824,701	2,465,965
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	1,167,475	1,002,564
Goodwill	323,604	352,739
ROVs [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	1,117,920	1,017,772
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	681,027	597,770
Goodwill	26,761	27,428
Subsea Products [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	942,607	727,703
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	289,015	213,536
Goodwill	113,066	120,332
Subsea Projects [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	382,782	316,353
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	163,210	157,755
Asset Integrity [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	381,392	404,137
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	34,223	33,503
Goodwill	183,777	204,979
Advanced Technologies [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	67,328	73,908
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	12,332	9,194
Goodwill	20,414	10,454
Corporate and Other [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Assets	236,471	228,245
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	$9,292	$13,374

Operations_by_Business_Segment5

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area - Other Significant Reconciling Items (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	$393,590	$309,858	$526,645
Oil And Gas [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	377,698	300,825	514,348
ROVs [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	225,885	198,323	135,770
Subsea Products [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	102,653	68,052	100,824
Subsea Projects [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	40,833	15,890	64,803
Asset Integrity [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	8,327	18,560	212,951
Advanced Technologies [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	13,175	2,953	5,757
Corporate and Other [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'	'
Capital Expenditures	$2,717	$6,080	$6,540

Operations_by_Business_Segment6

Operations by Business Segment and Geographic Area - Revenues and Long-Lived Assets by Location (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	$2,180,381	$1,827,376	$1,318,049
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Entity's Country of Domicile	1,106,638	955,228	874,614
Revenues	3,287,019	2,782,604	2,192,663
Long-Lived Assets	1,642,363	1,522,287	1,378,104
Foreign [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Long-Lived Assets	950,959	914,715	825,465
Norway [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	461,915	461,863	310,891
Long-Lived Assets	429,603	474,408	436,043
West Africa [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	696,202	505,541	316,051
Long-Lived Assets	186,865	141,927	120,732
United Kingdom [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	383,397	334,319	256,565
Long-Lived Assets	99,250	85,434	65,830
Asia and Australia [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	335,129	290,821	217,094
Long-Lived Assets	83,885	65,012	72,518
Brazil [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	213,282	164,660	155,532
Long-Lived Assets	112,840	113,829	99,709
Other [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Disclosure on Geographic Areas, Revenue from External Customers Attributed to Foreign Countries	90,456	70,172	61,916
Long-Lived Assets	38,516	34,105	30,633
United States [Member]	'	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'	'
Long-Lived Assets	$691,404	$607,572	$552,639

Employee_Benefit_Plans_and_Sha2

Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Payments Related to Tax Withholding for Share-based Compensation	'	'	$0
Excess Tax Benefit (Tax Deficiency) from Share-based Compensation, Financing Activities	4,279,000	2,475,000	1,320,000
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Tax Benefit from Compensation Expense	'	'	1,300,000
US 401K Plan [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Defined Contribution Plan, Cost Recognized	18,400,000	16,000,000	14,500,000
Foreign Employee Savings Plans [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Defined Contribution Plan, Cost Recognized	17,400,000	11,600,000	9,600,000
Board of Directors Chairman [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Other Deferred Compensation Arrangements, Liability, Classified, Noncurrent	6,300,000	6,800,000	'
Trust Value Threshold for Payout to Company	4,000,000	'	'
Supplemental Employee Retirement Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Defined Contribution Plan, Cost Recognized	3,400,000	2,800,000	3,400,000
Foreign Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan, Benefit Obligation	30,000,000	29,000,000	'
Defined Benefit Plan, Fair Value of Plan Assets	26,000,000	24,000,000	'
Deferred Compensation, Excluding Share-based Payments and Retirement Benefits [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Deferred Compensation Plan Cash Award Annual Expense	22,900,000	19,900,000	18,800,000
Deferred Compensation Plan Cash Award Number of Units	434,375	'	'
Deferred Compensation, Excluding Share-based Payments and Retirement Benefits [Member] | Minimum [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Deferred Compensation Plan Cash Award Per Unit	'	0	'
Deferred Compensation, Excluding Share-based Payments and Retirement Benefits [Member] | Maximum [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Deferred Compensation Plan Cash Award Per Unit	'	150	'
Stock Options [Member] | Maximum [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Expiration Period	'7 years	'	'
Restricted Stock [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period	'3 years	'	'
Restricted Stock [Member] | Board of Directors Chairman [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period	'3 years	'	'
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period	'3 years	'	'
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Total Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized	14,400,000	'	'
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Total Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition	'1 year 8 months 12 days	'	'
Performance Shares [Member] | Minimum [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Vested in Period, Final Value	$0	$0	$0
Performance Shares [Member] | Maximum [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Vested in Period, Final Value	$150	$150	$150
Restricted Stock Plan [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Compensation expense	16,700,000	14,600,000	11,100,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Percentage of Awards Vesting at end of Vesting Period	60.00%	50.00%	50.00%
US 401K Plan [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Excess Tax Benefit (Tax Deficiency) from Share-based Compensation, Financing Activities	888,000	'	'
Stock Compensation Plan [Member]	'	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'	'
Excess Tax Benefit (Tax Deficiency) from Share-based Compensation, Financing Activities	$3,391,000	'	'

Employee_Benefit_Plans_and_Sha3

Employee Benefit Plans and Shareholder Rights Plan - Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Activity (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Nonvested [Roll Forward]	'	'	'
Balance, beginning of year, Number	1,031,572	1,090,850	1,044,150
Balance, beginning of year. Weighted Average Date Fair Value	$42.27	$30.49	$25.74
Granted, Number	330,705	337,575	463,400
Granted, Weighted Average Fair Value	$62.55	$55.98	$41.26
Vested, Number	-376,078	-369,050	-379,952
Vested, Weighted Average Fair Value	$33.18	$20.03	$30.81
Vested in Period, Aggregate Intrinsic Value	$23,904,000	$20,325,000	$15,563,000
Forfeited, Number	-25,909	-27,803	-36,748
Forfeited, Weighted Average Fair Value	$52.72	$42.02	$27.77
Balance, end of year, Number	960,290	1,031,572	1,090,850
Balance, end of year. Weighted Average Fair Value	$52.53	$42.27	$30.49