ABUJA - Nigeria's main militant group said on Monday it had sabotaged an oil pumping station in the Niger Delta operated by Chevron, the fifth attack claimed against the U.S. energy company in less than a month.

Chevron facilities in the southern Delta state have become the main target of attacks by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which declared an all-out war against the military last month.

(Militants) hit the Abiteye flow station operated by Chevron today ... triggering another systems failure which resulted in a massive fire outbreak that is consuming the entire facility, MEND said in an emailed statement.

It was not immediately possible to independently verify the statement. Chevron officials were not immediately available for comment.

On Saturday, Chevron confirmed damage to its Makaraba-Utonana-Abiteye pipeline and fire at its Makaraba Jacket 5 facility in Delta state.

Militants have repeatedly targeted Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell facilities in the past three years as many of their pipelines and oil pumping stations are situated in communities hostile to foreign oil firms.

(Reporting by Randy Fabi)

Energy Nigeria Chevron