Gas distribution system

A method for supplying a mass of hydrocarbons that is gaseous at common environmental temperatures, to each of a plurality of communities that are each located in the vicinity of local coastal stations wherein each local coastal station is located adjacent to an ocean shore, including creating LNG (liquefied natural gas) by producing gaseous hydrocarbons from an underground hydrocarbon reservoir and cooling the produced hydrocarbons to create hydrocarbons in the form of LNG, comprising:

• loading said hydrocarbons in the form of LNG onto a tanker that has an LNG storage capacity of at least 50 million standard cubic feet of gas, sailing said tanker at least 100 kilometers to a local supply station, offloading said hydrocarbons in the form of LNG from said tanker to said local supply station and storing said hydrocarbons in the form of LNG at said local supply station, and sailing said tanker away from said local supply station as soon as said hydrocarbons in the form of LNG is offloaded while continuing to store said hydrocarbons in the form of LNG at said local supply station;
• transferring a mass of said stored hydrocarbons in the form of LNG from said local supply station to a shuttle boat that has an LNG storage capacity of less than 25% of the LNG storage capacity of said tanker, and sailing said shuttle boat to at least one of a plurality of said local coastal stations;
• at each of said local coastal stations, transferring a mass of said hydrocarbons from said shuttle boat to the local coastal station, heating LNG to produce gaseous hydrocarbons, and distributing gaseous hydrocarbons through pipelines to local customers.