French oil major Total SA (TOT) plans for GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) to join it on Azerbaijan's Absheron exploration block, Total's head of exploration and production confirmed Thursday.

The confirmation comes after a GDF Suez executive told Dow Jones Newswires on March 19 that the utility plans to join Total on the block with a "small stake."

Total's Yves-Louis Darricarrere, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an oil conference, didn't give details of the stake GDF Suez could get, but emphasized that it was a partnership rather than a simple sale.

"Actually speaking it's not selling," he said, adding it was about "forming a partnership with GDF Suez on this permit."

In other remarks, Darricarrere said Total was "concerned by the contractual evolution in Nigeria," and that the company was studying possible changes to oil-sector regulation in the country, where it has exploration and production interests.

-By Adam Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires, +33 1 40171756; adam.mitchell@dowjones.com