The cement will not be too hard to drill. Its compressive and tensile strength will be nowhere near that of the rock. It takes normally around 7 days for cement to get to 90% strength and even with the fast cure stuff, it hits a certain strength in 12 or 24 hrs, then takes many days to cure to full strength. Im guessing an ROP of maybe 600-900 m/day, not taking into account bit changes and problems.
These are challenging jobs and theres still many unknowns and a hole with 6,000 psi waiting for them. The team will be in overdrive to get this done and get it right. Im not expecting an ann until they've successfully cemented the annulus or a reached an alternative outcome. Keep those shares stashed in your bottom drawer and come back later next week.
NWE Price at posting:
2.9¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held