(Adds military spokesman and security source)

By Austin Ekeinde

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, May 23 (Reuters) - Two foreigners working for Nigerian oil services company Lonestar were kidnapped in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria on Friday, police and security sources said.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where militants have launched a campaign of violence to press for local control of the region's natural resources.

More than 200 foreigners have been seized in violence in the region since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.

"Two foreign oil workers, one Pakistani and the other from Malta, were kidnapped at Omoku today. They are working for Lonestar. We do not know who kidnapped them," said Sagir Musa, military spokesman in Rivers state.

A private security source said one of the men was Pakistani but that the second was believed to be Lebanese.

Officials from Lonestar could not immediately be reached.

Rita Inoma-Abbey, spokeswoman for Rivers state police command, said the incident took place near the town of Omoku at around 12:30 p.m. (1130 GMT).

Omoku lies on the east-west road linking Port Harcourt, the delta's main city in Rivers state, to Warri, the capital of Delta state located further west. A security source said they were travelling without a military escort.

Violence in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil industry which produces around 2 million barrels per day, is estimated to have depressed Nigeria's output by a fifth over the past two years, helping drive oil prices to record highs.

Militants pushing for more benefit from the region's natural wealth had been behind much of the unrest but copy-cat criminal gangs have also abducted foreigners and Nigerians for money.

Thousands of foreign workers have been moved to the relative safety of the commercial capital Lagos and those who remain live under tight security.

Five foreigners working for Lonestar were kidnapped in the delta last July but were released unharmed 10 days later. (Additional reporting by Tume Ahemba, Writing by Nick Tattersall)

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