While profits continue to falter, consolidation remains the name of the game among the US oil giants, with ConocoPhillips joining Devon Energy and Chevron in the list of companies that have made billion dollar acquisitions to strengthen their market presence, on a gamble that oil demand will recover post Covid-19. ConocoPhillips announced this week that it will buy Concho Resources in a $9.7 billion all-stock deal. This surpasses the $2.6 billion that Devon Energy paid for WPX Energy and the $5 billion that Chevron paid for Noble back in July. All of these deals have been prompted by plummeting oil demand, which is expected to have been nearly 10% lower in 2020 than it was last year. By pooling resources…