VIDEO: Fact Finder: What’s behind rapidly dropping gas prices

When it comes to gas prices do you ever find yourself asking, “What the heck is going on?“ 

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to prices which rise and fall dramatically, very quickly.

The price at the pump affects all of us, one way or another.  Americans drive nearly 3 trillion miles a year, using about 178 million gallons of gas every day.

Believe it or not many experts say the oil companies don’t have a great deal of control over gas prices.  So who does? 

NBC13 HD’s Lisa Crane got some answers from Dr. Peter Clark, a mining engineer with the University of Alabama’s Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. 

For an in-depth look at who and what’s behind the way gas prices are set, watch her Fact Finder report here.