> Yes, in fact, if a store's computers go down they don't just let customers walk out the door with products and hope they get paid eventually?

It's one thing with a supermarket and anonymous masses of customers, but an oil pipeline where each customer is supposed to have meters running on their side as well (as double verification to protect against technical issues)? If you can't trust your known (!) customers enough to not rip you off, something is very much off.

And even in that case: the government could have told the pipeline owners "we'll pay off any differences after settling, now go and get that pipeline up and running again".