A small natural gas discovery in the arctic Barents Sea waters by Norway's Statoil shows the risky campaign isn't worth it, Greenpeace said Friday.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate characterized a discovery in a wildcat well in the Johan Castberg area of the Barents Sea as a small find for the Norwegian energy company. A wildcat well is one drilled into an area not known previously to contain oil or gas reserves.

Erlend Tellnes, a Greenpeace campaigner, said the announcement of low gas volumes was a victory for the environment.

"Statoil unsuccessful drilling campaign in the Barents Sea shows that the strategy to be more aggressive in the Arctic has been unsuccessful," the campaigner said in a statement emailed to United Press International.

More than a dozen Greenpeace demonstrators took part in a protest against Statoil's drilling plans for arctic waters by boarding the Transocean rig Spitsbergen in May. Around half of them surrendered their campaign voluntarily and Statoil said the seven activists who remained behind were arrested by Norwegian police

Greenpeace has recommended that the drilling does not take place in the region, as it is too close to vulnerable seabird habitats at Bear Island.