* Militants claim attack on oil pumping station * Army says cause of fire is accidental, denies attack * No oil output loss, facility idle for several months (Refiles to add dropped word in paragraph 2) By Austin Ekeinde PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, June 10 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group said on Wednesday it had sabotaged a Chevron-operated <CVX.N> facility in the Niger Delta but the military denied an attack had taken place. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), whose attacks have shut one-fifth of Nigeria's oil output in the last three years, said the Otunana pumping station in Delta state was engulfed in fire after a militant raid late Tuesday. "A major 'cordon and search' operation by MEND commenced today ... with devastating effects on the heavily fortified Chevron Otunana flow station," the group said in a statement. The military said the fire at the oil facility was accidental and not caused by any militant activity. "The fire was caused by a system failure, either chemical or electrical. It has been contained and there was no damage to the facility and no loss of life," said Colonel Rabe Abubakar, spokesman for the military task force in the Niger Delta. "There is not an ounce of truth to MEND's claim that they attacked it." Chevron confirmed the fire at its facility, which was shut down before the incident. It did not say how the fire was started. [ID:nLA603043] Security forces last month launched their biggest offensive in years against militants in Delta state, bombarding militant camps from the air and sea and sending three battalions of soldiers to hunt down rebels in surrounding communities. In response, MEND has declared an "all-out war" against the military and bombed a Chevron pipeline, forcing a loss in oil output of 100,000 barrels per day. MEND says it is fighting for a fairer share of the natural resources in the Niger Delta, but criminal gangs involved in the theft of crude oil and kidnapping for ransom are profiting from the insecurity. MEND, a loose coalition of militant factions, promised on Tuesday for the second time in 10 days to release a British oil worker held hostage in the delta for the past nine months. The group has said several times in the past that it would release Matthew Maguire, who was seized on Sept. 9, but he remains captive. [ID:nL9439786] (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall in Dakar and Joe Brock in London; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Residents ride in the back of a van as they flee with their farm products out of Odi town in the Bayelsa State, Niger-Delta region, May 27, 2009. Nigeria's Warri refinery ...
