French oil major Total SA (TOT) would be happy to partner with French state-controlled power giant Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) on international nuclear projects, Total's head of gas and power division Philippe Boisseau said Friday.

"Of course we'd love to partner with EDF in principle," Boisseau said during an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, on the sidelines of a press conference to present Total's fourth quarter and full-year earnings.

Total is in contact with EDF due to its interest in France 's third-generation nuclear reactor project in Penly, Boisseau said.

Total and EDF, which is the world's largest nuclear operator with a fleet of 58 reactors in France, teamed up during a bid for a $20 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors in Abu Dhabi, along with French state-controlled engineering group Areva SA (CEI.FR) and power group GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR), in 2009.

The contract was awarded to South Korea 's state-owned utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (015760.SE) or Kepco.

This was the first time that Total took part in an international nuclear bid and since then, "there are not many projects abroad" for Total to develop its nuclear ambitions, Boisseau added.

So far, existing nuclear operators are more focused on extending the life span of existing nuclear reactors and don't have plans for new ones, Boisseau pointed out.

Total, which has long-standing experience of managing large and complex oil and gas projects, teaming up with several sub-contractors and partners, would like to transfer this experience to the nuclear field.

"We want to position ourselves in the long run in regions that we know," Boisseau said.

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