Court orders taken out by oil firms and public bodies have named more than 400 demonstrators restricting protests at more than 1,200 locations, according to research by the BBC.
The injunctions are in force at sites including oil terminals, petrol stations and racetracks across England and Wales.
The court orders restrict what people can do, who they can associate with and where they are permitted to go.
The punishment for breaching the court order can be up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine.
Oil companies and public bodies argue that orders are needed to stop disruptive and dangerous protests.
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Raj Chada, the head of criminal law at Hodge Jones and Allen, told the BBC it represents nearly 80 individuals.
He said: “There was the odd case previously, but the scope and number of [protest] injunctions is now unprecedented.”
According to the BBC, eight injunctions have been taken out by oil companies including Shell, Esso and ExxonMobil while the National Highways, Transport for London, and councils also account for others.
In January last year, four Greenpeace activists boarded a platform north of the Canary Islands that was being transported to the Shetland Islands, holding signs stating: “Stop drilling – start paying”.
In May this year, Shell’s AGM was disrupted by protesters shouting “Shell kills”.
