Set up the BlendGraph

Fill Overview page

In the Overview page, enter a name and a description for the new case. You can also select a location, and mark the case as Recommended. If you want to share the case with other users, select from the Share dropdown menu the share you want to publish the case to.

When you have made your changes, select the Graph link on the left to open the Graph page.

Add Assays of Blends to the case

Up to three assays, or blends of assays, can be investigated using the BlendGraph. Select Crude or Blend from each drop-down menu to add a single crude or a blend of crudes.

If you choose to add a blend, select the add () icon to add crudes to the blend. The Assay Selector window opens and allows you to search for, and add crudes. Once you have added a crude, you can modify its blend ratio by changing the value in the text box to the right of its name. If you choose to add a single crude, select the magnifier () icon to open the Assay Selector window and search for the desired crude.

To remove an assay, either part of a blend or on its own, select the remove () icon next to its name.

Set Blending and Sampling Options

Use the Blend By option buttons to select whether to blend the crudes by weight or volume ratios.

Use the Sampling menu to change the number of different blends investigated. Coarse sampling uses steps of 10% between the different blends, medium uses steps of 5% and fine uses steps of 2%. As more blends are investigated the processing time may increase.

Select the Display Options

The BlendGraph can be used to show the results of comparing each potential blend to some criteria, to one of the nearness crudes (see Compare Assays using nearness) if you have any defined, or can be used to show the value of a particular cut property for each potential blend. The selected Display type is changed using the Display section.

Generate the Results

Select the generate () icon - the selected display type is displayed in the blend area.

Define a Cost Threshold

In this optional step, you can evaluate the cost of each blend generated by BlendGraph and compare it to a threshold you define by following these steps:

1. In the Crude costs panel, select a crude pricing case from the Pricing dropdown list. Alternatively, switch to the Crude Pricing page and open a pricing case by selecting the open () icon or create a new one by selecting the new () icon. The pricing case must contain data for all the crudes in the blend.

2. Optionally, you can indicate freight costs by choosing a crude freight case from the Freight dropdown list. Alternatively, switch to the Crude Freight page and open a freight case by selecting the open () icon or create a new one by selecting the new () icon. The freight case must contain data for all the crudes in the blend.

3. Select the Threshold checkbox to activate the threshold checking.

4. Change the threshold cost in the Cost text box or move the slider below it. Alternatively, select a crude from the Benchmark dropdown list and define the offset with respect to its price in the Offset text box, or move the slider at the bottom of the panel.

As you change the threshold cost, the blends whose total cost is over the threshold are shown in a lighter shade of colour. Hover the mouse over a cell to see a tooltip with details on the crude and freight cost of the blend.

Review the results

Hover your mouse over any cell to display a pop-up box with information on the particular blend. Right-click on a cell to display a menu with options for further analysis:

• Show CAG Results: Displays a pop-up window with the detailed results of submitting the blend to the CAG. Available only for the Crude Approval Grid Display option.

• Blue Book Report: Generates and opens a Blue Book Report for the selected blend. Available for all Display options.

• Crude Summary Report: Generates and opens a Crude Summary Report for the selected blend. Available for all Display options.

• Go To Blend Page: Opens the detailed Blend Page for the selected blend. This allows the blend to be investigated further using CAGs, graphing tools and can be used to output reports. Available for all Display options.

  You can save BlendGraph cases by clicking the save () icon in the top right corner of the BlendGraph component.