Bob George, Principal, Ulysses Petroleum Management
Bob has more than 50 years experience in the oil and gas sector, during which time all but a handful of years have been working in advisory roles.
Bob graduated from Leeds University in England with a degree in Earth Sciences, and started his career in the petroleum sector as a wellsite geologist onshore and offshore Indonesia, before recognizing that his skillset was challenged as a geologist, and would be better focused on the commercial side of the business.
Either side of spells at Getty Oil and Bank of America, and while undertaking his MBA, Bob worked for international petroleum consultancy Gaffney Cline and Associates where he spent a total of 40 years. During his time at GCA Bob managed GCA's operations in Singapore, the US, and globally.
Mixing his technical and commercial background with his early work experience, Bob has spent much of his career in advising governments, multinational agencies, NOCs and IOCs on petroleum policy and licensing; on due diligence for acquisitions, divestments and financing; and in expert reporting and testimony in dispute resolution matters.
Bob retired, if that is the right word, in 2017 and immediately formed Ulysses Petroleum Management where he is Managing Principal, Finance Director, Chief Technology Officer, Manager of Human Resources and General Dogsbody. He continues to provide independent advice and act as an expert witness.
Bellanne M. Toren, International Petroleum Consultant, Office of Bellanne M. Toren
Bellanne (“Belle”) Meltzer Toren was thrilled to have been selected by the US Chapter Regional Committee as one of AIEN’s 2026 “Distinguished Negotiators”! Belle’s professional life spans more than 40 years, most of the time spent on “professional treks” as an international petroleum lawyer or negotiator for exploration and development projects in over 21 countries. While at Triton Energy, Hess Corporation, and as a consultant for various small E & P cap companies, she negotiated: Colombia’s Cusiana and Cupiaqua farmouts and the formation of the OCENSA; the establishment of the Malaysia-Thailand JDA; the E&P and FPSO contracts for offshore EG and for the development of the Luba port; and the Rovuma area contracts in Tanzania and Moçambique, among notable others. At the AIEN, she is a past president, and chaired the successful 1997 KL conference despite being told it couldn’t be done. Belle is thrilled to have worked on many AIEN drafting committees and have been able to mentor some currently active AIEN members.
Belle graduated from Duke University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina, with a J.D. with High Honors in 1985. Even before admitted as a lawyer to the Texas Bar in 1985 and an associate at Thompson & Knight in Dallas, she was breaking barriers. During her undergraduate studies at Guilford College in NC, she was a police officer with the Greensboro Police Department (1979 – 1982), where she worked through the period of turmoil, brought on by the Klan-Nazi Shootout aka the Greensboro massacre.
Prior to being a police officer, she was a professional fine artist in Israel, where she lived on various kibbutzim from 1971 - 1978 (collective farming communities). While on Kibbutz Gevulot (1974-1978, located in the area now often referred to as the Gaza Envelope), she married and worked with acrylics on canvas and was a voted in as a full member of the Israel Painters and Sculptures Association and Kibbutz Artzi Artists Union. In the mid-1970s, she participated in numerous exhibitions in Israel including the Jerusalem Theatre, Haifa Museum of Modern Art, and the Kibbutz Artzi Gallery in Tel Aviv.
Her zest for life and adventure includes her family (husband, two sons, a expectant daughter-in-law and grandson) and involvement in community events and wildlife focused projects in Canmore, Alberta, Canada; and staying fit as an avid runner, hiker, and yoga student. She was honored to be a Pecha Kucha speaker for the Town of Canmore regarding “Her Wild Life” in 2018. She started running for Team in Training (The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) in 2003 and has completed the 2017 Third Marathon of Afghanistan among 3 other marathons, countless half marathons across the globe and many 10K’s. Belle’s international treks have taken her twice to Nepal (Gokyo Lakes and Mustang), to complete the Kumano Kodo (Japan) and the Inca Trail (Peru); and to reach the summits of Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Mount Roraima (Venezuela), Carrantuohill (Ireland), and Mount Toubkal (Morocco Atlas Mountains).
After all of those professional and personal life experiences and adventures, Belle is proud to be an AIEN member and a past president.