AUSTRALIAN OIL TAX CUT SEEN BOOSTING OUTPUT A 10 percentage point reduction in the Australian government's maximum crude oil levy on old oil would stabilize Bass Straits oil output, resources analyst Ian Story said here. A reduction to 70 pct from 80 pct would enable Bass Strait output to be maintained at the current rate of 420,000 barrels per day (BPD) for the next year rather than falling to 380,000 BPD in 1987/88, he told the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association annual conference. Story is an analyst with and a director of Sydney stockbroker Meares and Philips Ltd. Windfall profits taxes on Bass Strait crude are no longer appropriate in the current economic climate, Story said. The maximum 80 pct levy on old oil -- that discovered before September 1975 -- is now forcing the Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd <BRKN.S>/Exxon Corp <XON> partnership to shut-in production, accelerating the decline in output and reducing government revenue, he said. He said the producer return per barrel at a price of 30 Australian dlrs a barrel would rise to 2.07 dlrs from 0.80 dlrs if the levy was cut to 70 pct. "The economics at an 80 pct levy are simply not attractive at oil prices below 30 dlrs," Story said. Cutting the maximum levy rate to 70 pct would create higher levels of self-sufficiency, increase government revenue, boost exports and provide incentives for exploration and development, he said. The government is currently reviewing the oil tax structure.