VAALCO Energy, Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Cover
- Document and Entity Information
Financial Statements
Notes to Financial Statements
Accounting Policies
- Organization and Accounting Policies (Policies)
Notes Tables
Notes Details

Dispositions (Narrative) (Details)

v3.20.1

Dispositions (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
Dispositions (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	Jul. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2006	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) item	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 item	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of drilled wells required by agreement \| item			2
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax			$ (63)	$ 5,671
Joint Operating With Republic Of Angola [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of wells drilled \| item					1
Number of drilled wells required by agreement \| item			3
Stipulated payment for each exploration well, under PSA terms			$ 10,000
Drilling commitment, net			5,000
Liability for the potential payment						$ 15,000
Discontinued Operations [Member] \| Joint Operating With Republic Of Angola [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Joint operation agreement related to third party in working interest percentage		40.00%
Additional joint operation agreement related to third party in working interest percentage		10.00%
Liability for the potential payment				4,500
Write off of receivable				3,300
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax			$ (63)	$ 5,671
Payment for settlement	$ 4,500

- Definition

Joint operation agreement related to third party in working interest percentage.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	egy_AcquisitionOfWorkingInterestInBlock
Namespace Prefix:	egy_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Additional joint operation agreement related to third party in working interest percentage.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	egy_AdditionalJointOperationAgreementRelatedToThirdPartyInWorkingInterestPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	egy_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Drilling Commitment, Net

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	egy_DrillingCommitmentNet
Namespace Prefix:	egy_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number Of Drilled Wells Required By Agreement

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	egy_NumberOfDrilledWellsRequiredByAgreement
Namespace Prefix:	egy_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Number Of Wells Drilled

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	egy_NumberOfWellsDrilled
Namespace Prefix:	egy_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Stipulated Payment For Each Exploration Well, Under Terms

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	egy_StipulatedPaymentForEachExplorationWellUnderTerms
Namespace Prefix:	egy_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of direct write-downs of accounts receivable charged against the allowance.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=119407570&loc=SL82919249-210447

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AllowanceForDoubtfulAccountsReceivableWriteOffs
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount after tax of income (loss) from a discontinued operation including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest. Includes, but is not limited to, the income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, gain (loss) for reversal of write-down (write-down) to fair value, less cost to sell, and adjustments to a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 220
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04(12))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116637232&loc=SL114874131-224263

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 3B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222160&loc=SL51721525-107759

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5C
-Subparagraph (b)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222650&loc=SL51721675-107760

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222160&loc=d3e957-107759

Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222650&loc=d3e1361-107760

Reference 6: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03(21))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116634182&loc=SL114868664-224227

Reference 7: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 3A
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222160&loc=SL51721523-107759

Reference 8: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222160&loc=d3e1012-107759

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeLossFromDiscontinuedOperationsNetOfTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Reflects the estimated amount of loss from the specified contingency as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942415&loc=d3e14435-108349

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 9
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942415&loc=d3e14557-108349

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118943654&loc=d3e12021-110248

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyEstimateOfPossibleLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of cash paid for the settlement of litigation or for other legal issues during the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 25
-Subparagraph (g)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3536-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PaymentsForLegalSettlements
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=egy_JointOperatingWithRepublicOfAngolaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DisposalGroupClassificationAxis=us-gaap_SegmentDiscontinuedOperationsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: