Malaysian national oil company Petronas has officially entered Japan's lubricants market with the launching of its premium grade automotive engine oils, Syntium, local press reported Tuesday.

The Petronas range of Syntium synthetic lubricants will be distributed by the leading automotive supplier Magna Internationalthrough one-stop car center networks in Japan. The lubricants will initially be available in Nagoya and Tokyo and subsequently to other parts of Japan.

"For Petronas, the debut of its range of premium products in Japan provides an excellent opportunity to tap into a vibrant lubricants market that is currently the fourth largest in the world," Petronas was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying in a statement.

The range of Petronas' automotive engine oils that will be available in the Japanese market include Syntium 5000 SM 0W30, Syntium 3000 SM 5W40, Syntium 1000 SM 10W40 and Syntium 800 SM 10W40 .

Besides Japan and Malaysia, the Syntium synthetic lubricants are also available in China, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, China's Hong Kong, China's Macao, Sudan, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines, said the statement.

Petronas first paved its way into Japan in 1975 with the shipment of Malaysian crude oil into the country.

At present, Petronas is one of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers to Japan, supplying about 23 percent of the country's LNG requirement, it said.