Statoil, the leading Norwegian oil and gas group, has reported record profits for 2006 owing to high prices for hydrocarbons and despite a fall of production. Net profit surged by 32.0 percent to 40.615 billion kroner (4.98 billion euros, 6.47 billion dollars) from 30.73 billion kroner in 2005. Sales rose by 10.0 percent to 423.5 billion euros. Chief executive Helge Lund said Monday: “Annual...