They are fully aware that they SHOULD have been on a routine maintenance and repair cycle. Yes, maybe inspections are difficult, but they should’ve just prepared a replacement plan for the pipes after so many years of service, whether it was corroded or not. This is the proactive way of doing things and it is much less expensive in the long run. Do you personally inspect every shingle in your roof to see if there’s a leak under it? It is simply replaced after it’s typical service life. Same goes for pipes, roads, bridges, etc.
What’s their incentive to spend ongoing funds to maintain these things when they can just let them go to waste, shut down a portion of operations, and charge an arm and a leg for oil while they fix the problem? After all is said and done, I’d bet that it is actually more profitable for them to let the pipes rot and overcharge on oil than to keep them maintained and the oil flowing.
