The concept for an all inclusive petroleum organization was realized when the Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association was formed on October 13, 1917, at a meeting held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the time, the United States was engaged in World War I, and one of the principle purposes behind the Association’s formation was to provide essential supplies of petroleum and petroleum products to the armed forces of the United States and its allies. As one member put it, "…to float to victory upon a wave of oil."