Merger mania has gripped the oil patch this year. Oil giant ExxonMobil kicked things off by agreeing to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for more than $60 billion. Fellow oil behemoth Chevron followed that up by agreeing to buy for $60 billion. 

More deals are likely. This consolidation wave has a few Fool.com contributors growing more cautious about the sector. They have their eyes on three oil stocks in particular -- Valaris (NYSE: VAL), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), and Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) -- as the current merger wave washes over the oil patch.  

Jason Hall (Valaris): Count me with those who hope to see the end of fossil fuels as a major source of global energy sooner rather than later. Sadly, I don't expect it to happen as quickly as many expect. Big Oil will remain relevant for years, largely because of its ability to acquire and integrate new assets with existing operations. 

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Source Fool.com