Fayed strikes gold from 'secret' oilfield under his estate

Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed today won a stake in the proceeds of an oilfield in Surrey which had been pumping from under his land without his knowledge for 17 years.

High Court judge Mr Justice Smith awarded Mr Fayed nine per cent of the £7 million income the tiny field had produced since 2000 and the same percentage of future income.

The wells in Oxted penetrate up to 700metres under Mr Fayed's Barrow Green Court and Barrow Green Farm and the judge heard that the owner, Star Energy, had not wanted to tell Mr Fayed what was happening beneath his property.

Production at the Palmers Wood oilfield began in October 1990 and the wells initially produced 9,000 barrels a month. The total amount extracted by the end of last year was just over a million barrels worth £10 million.

When Mr Fayed noticed the oil rig next to his estate in 1992, he instructed solicitors to find out "what actually was occurring", said the judge.

But the oil company refused and it was not until 2006 when he saw a geological-survey that he realised that the pipes pass under his land.

The judge said he agreed that the oil company was deliberately concealing what was going on and awarded the nine per cent figure because he believed it was the level of compensation the parties in the case originally would have settled on.