The hull for Statoil's Åsgard B gas production platform successfully passed through the Suez Canal on 18 August.
Heavy-lift ship Mighty Servant 3, which is carrying the semi-submersible structure, took 11 hours to make the passage.
"This load was clearly only just under the maximum width which can pass through the canal," says Statoil production technician Håkon Haugstad, who is accompanying the vessel.
Measuring 115 metres long and 96 metres wide, the hull weighs almost 18,000 tonnes and has been placed diagonally on Mighty Servant 3's deck. That gives the consignment an overall breadth which is just under the 150-metre width of the canal.
The hull was built by Daewoo in South Korea, and is due to begin production on the Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea next year.
Its voyage from South Korea has gone through the Straits of Malacca and the Indian Ocean. It is due to pass Gibraltar and through the English Channel before reaching Stavanger on 1 September.
After being prepared by Aker Marine Contractors for mating with the topside, the hull is scheduled to go to Kværner Oil & Gas where two topside sections weighing a total of 33,000 tonnes will be welded together ahead of the mating.
Plans call for the latter operation to be carried out in the nearby Åmøy Fjord during October.