The Energy Information Administration wants to start collecting information about the density of oil produced in the U.S. to better inform the debate over lifting restrictions against crude exports. The agency, which is the statistical arm of the Energy Department, would begin publishing the average API gravity and sulfur content of domestic crude oil on a state-by-state basis in December 2015, under a proposal published today in the Federal Register, according to Jim Kendell, who heads the EIA’s Office of Oil, Gas and Coal Supply Statistics. Companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) have urged the U.S. government to ease restrictions against most exports of unrefined crude from the U.S. Others, such as Valero Energy (VLO) Corp., say the U.S. is benefiting from existing rules. One issue at the center of the debate, the EIA said in its proposal, is the density of U.S.-produced oil. Proponents of lifting export […]