20,000 barrels, 6” line, and it’s only a 1/4” hole.
It had to start as a pinhole and fluid cutting enlarged it to 1/4” over time.
Corrosion would probably be a bigger hole as the fluid cutting would cut the thin wall from corrosion faster than nominal wall.
If it’s seamless pipe it’s probably in the weld and someone missed it with the X-ray. Pin hole, thick wall, slow fluid cut.
If it’s pipe with a weld seam same thing. Pin hole in seam, thick wall, slow fluid cut.
That has not been my experience in decades around pipelines.
If it’s seamless pipe it’s probably in the weld and someone missed it with the X-ray.
An initial construction defect that did not develop a problem until after after 20 years?