[thackney]

May have, or the leak may have attracted the lightening.

I can easily see corrosion from a break in the fusion bond epoxy coating combined with insufficient cathodic protection putting iron into the soil to increase the chances of the path of current for lightning.

That said, it still sounds very unlikely.

I would expect a lightning strike into a pool of crude to result in quite a fire. Most crudes cannot be lite by a match but a lightning strike is going to be vaporizing heat and would be burning.

[IMR 4350]

So how long does it take for 20,000 barrels to leak out of a 1/4” hole at the pressure of the line?

Check the weather at that time.