Robert H Chaney, a Houston oilman known for his extensive holdings of contemporary Asian and British art, died Wednesday, Oct. 22. He is also founder of the Houston-based energy investment firm R. Chaney & Co.

Before founding the investment firm that bears his name, Chaney was president and chief executive officer of Paramount Petroleum Co., which he co-founded in 1986 with Bob Schneeflock. The two built the company into a leading prospect generating and marketing firm, and one of the lead E&P firms in the southeastern U.S. From 1989-1993, Paramount made 30 discoveries on internally generated prospects.

Chaney left Paramount in the early 1990s after it was bought by another firm, to form R. Chaney & Co.