I think this was the most "Famous" example.
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/166061/M/
A book I have says that "After the price of crude oil peaked at around $34 per barrel in the mid-1980's, it fell to below $10 before the end of that decade, with the result that the expense of further research could no longer be justified."
hence
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/141998/M/